Oddstar's Legacy
by Ashflight
Summary: She was foretold to be the destruction of ThunderClan, and now everyone in ThunderClan shuns Oddkit. She's different, and her eyes prove that, but sometimes even the oddest of cats can become the greatest. Rated T
1. A Harsh Lesson

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors**

**Chapter One**

**A Harsh Lesson**

"Honeyfeather!"

The cream colored she-cat smiled as Robintail's current litter of kits, Dawnkit, Reedkit, Mallowkit, and Redkit came tumbling into the elder's den. The elderly she-cat, the oldest in all of the Clans, gave a rusty purr as they hurried over to her.

"Yes, kits?" she asked warmly, her dull green eyes shining.

"We wanna hear a story!" Dawnkit squeaked.

"Alright, which one?" Honeyfeather asked. "There's the story of Firestar and Tigerstar. The Battle of BloodClan. The Great Journey. The Battle of the Stars…"

"We wanna hear the story of Oddstar!" Reedkit interjected. "How'd she become leader? What was she like when she was our age?"

Honeyfeather hesitated. "Well, I suppose I can tell you about Oddstar's Legacy."

The kits eyes widened. "Legacy?"

"Oh yes, the Clans will never forget about Oddstar, she was one of the best leaders all the Clans have ever seen, not quite as popular as Firestar, but she was very close," Honeyfeather meowed. "Well, it all started on one cold night in leafbare. I had been in the nursery for two moons, and I was having my first litter of kits; Gingerkit, Graykit, Spottedkit, and Oddkit. My mate at the time was Fogmist, but you will remember his name as Fogstar. I didn't want to name the kits as soon as they were born, I wanted to wait until they had opened their eyes, but little did I know, that one kit's life, Oddkit's, would be filled with so much pain and betrayal…"

The kits listened intently as she continued, and the small group of cats were sucked away into a story of the past.

**{x}{x}{x}**

**(About five years earlier)**

"Have you still not named the kits?"

Honeyfeather, a cream colored she-cat, looked from the task of cleaning her kits to glance at Moonstar, the leader of ThunderClan. The silver furred she-cat stood next to the queen's nest, fur shimmering in the moonlight that was streaming in through some holes in the nursery's roof. Moonstar's amber colored eyes were warm as she gazed down at the kits.

"Their eyes just opened today, I will name them as soon as -" Honeyfeather began but was cut off when two cats entered the nursery, hissing angrily at one another. The white and gray tom's fur was bristling angrily as he spat at a dapple furred she-cat. Behind them was a silver tom known as Rainfur, Flowerear's apprentice. The apprentice's tail flickered nervously as he glanced from his mentor to the Clan's deputy before he sighed and turned when his name was called followed by the words of a complaining elder.

"You're wrong," Fogmist growled at Flowerear. "She's just different - special - that doesn't make her evil."

"StarClan warned me about that kit!" Flowerear snarled. "She will be the destruction of ThunderClan!"

Moonstar's eyes widened and she looked down at the kits. "Which one, Flowerear?"

"The odd one with the funny eyes," the elderly cat growled.

"Odd one…" Honeyfeather trailed, looking down at the tortoiseshell and white she-cat with mismatched eyes; one blue, one green. "Well, then she will be known as Oddkit."

"Graykit for the gray she-cat," Fogmist added.

"Gingerkit for the red and white she-cat."

"And Spottedkit for the last tortoisehell and white she-cat."

The two mates nodded, pleased with the names, but they still could not move past what Flowerear had said. Oddkit would be the destruction of ThunderClan, neither wanted to believe it, she was their precious little kit, but if that was what StarClan had foretold…

_Three moons later_

Oddkit sat alone in the entrance to the nursery, watching was Mintpaw and her brother Flamepaw play fought with her three siblings, Graykit, Gingerkit, and Spottedkit. Mintpaw was pretending to be overpowered by two of the kits while Spottedkit tussled with Flamepaw. Wanting to joy the fun, she stood and ran over to where Flamepaw and Spottedkit where playing. The tom immediately hissed at her and lashed out at her with his claws.

Oddkit gasped as he claws struck her shoulder and she was sent rolling. She stood quickly and scrambled back, eyes wide in fear. Flamepaw watched her through narrowed, untrusting eyes before going back to playing with Spottedkit, who shot Oddkit a glare. Oddkit was shaking slightly as she stood and rushed away, only to run right into Moonstar, who looked down at her in concern.

"Oddkit? What happened?" she asked softly.

Oddkit shook her head and turned away from the leader back to the nursery. Her mother wasn't in there, and there were no other queens. She went over to the nest and curled up, laying her tail over her nose.

It was later that night, after her mother and siblings had returned that Oddkit heard Gingerkit sit up and prod the other awake. The three kits slid down from the nest and headed toward the back of the nursery. Oddkit sat up and leapt down, padding over to Gingerkit, who was a lot nicer to her than any of the other cats beside their parents and Moonstar.

"Where are you going?" Oddkit asked softly.

Gingerkit flicked her ears and all three of her sisters turned to look at her, but Gingerkit was the one who answered. "We're going to go see the forest."

Oddkit's eyes widened. "Can I go?"

Spottedkit snorted and Graykit flicked her tail in annoyance. Gingerkit looked unsure, but slowly nodded her head. There was a small gap in the back of the nursery; it was just big enough for the four kits to squeeze through. Once out they found themselves out in the forest.

The kits wandered aimlessly through the forest, awed by their surroundings. They soon reached a large tree, the tallest in the whole forest. The kits knew this was the Sky Oak that their parents often told them off. The kits stared at it for a moment and then Gingerkit launched herself at Oddkit, who squeaked and let out a playful hiss as she began playing with her sister. Smiling, Graykit and Spottedkit began their own play fight. They played for a long time, carelessly thinking that they were safe because it was ThunderClan's territory, but soon Spottedkit froze, eyes on something in the bushes.

A large red and white, foul smelling creature stalked out from the undergrowth, licking its lips and eyes filled with some sort of bloodthirsty look. The kits' eyes widened in fear and all of them pressed closer to the Sky Oak as it came closer. Hissing Graykit leapt at its face, but the fox slapped her away with a bat of a paw. The other kits gasped as their sister flew into a nearby tree trunk with a sickening thud and fell to the ground unmoving.

A yowl cut through the air as a small patrol arrived, launching themselves at the fox.

The three remaining kits had just learned a harsh lesson; the forest was never safe.

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Moonstar - silver furred she-cat with green eyes

**Deputy: **Fogmist - white and gray tom _Apprentice, Webpaw_

**Medicine Cat: **Flowerear - dapple furred she-cat _Apprentice, Rainfur_

**Warriors:**

Hawkfire - brown tom with ginger paws (Brother of Blossomlight)

Blossomlight - brown and tan she-cat (Sister of Hawkfire)

Frostmask - gray she-cat with a black mask

Hazelflower - ginger and white she-cat _Apprentice, Mintpaw_

Rainleaf - dark tabby tom _Apprentice, Flamepaw_

**Apprentices:**

Webpaw - black and white tom (Son of Darktail)

Flamepaw - tan furred tom (Son of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, brother of Mintpaw)

Mintpaw - brown tabby she-cat (Daughter of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, sister of Flamepaw)

Rainfur - silver furred tom

**Queens: **

Honeyfeather - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Fogmists's kits: Graykit, Gingerkit, Spottedkit, and Oddkit)

**Elders: **

Sandclaw - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Honeyfeather)

_SHADOWCLAN_

_Leader: _Scarstar - bulky gray tom covered with scars

_Deputy: _Swftfire - ginger and white she-cat

_Medicine Cat: _Redstreak - red furred she-cat

_Warriors:_

Amberheart - light brown tom with amber eyes

Coalwing - black furred tom _Apprentice, Dovepaw_

Lizardstripe - light brown tom with darker stripes

Nightsong - black and white she-cat

Rockheart - brown tom with blue eyes and a white chest

Treeclaw - brown tom with black stripes

_Apprentices:_

Dovepaw - gray she-cat (Daughter of Scarstar)

_Queens:_

_NO QUEENS_

_Elders: NO ELDERS_

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Stonestar - white tom with gray paws

**Deputy: **Rosefall - brown and white she-cat

**Medicine Cat: **Rainbreeze - brown and gray tom

**Warriors:**

Adderfang - dark brown tom

Creekstone - gray she-cat

Goldenleaf - gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes

Lynxwhisker - brown tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt - dusky brown she-cat

Hollyspots - black tom with white spots

**Apprentices:**

**NO APPRENTICES**

**Queens:**

Jadefur - brown she-cat with green eyes (Mother of Hollyspots kits: Yellowkit and Sagekit)

**Elders:**

**NO ELDERS**

_RIVERCLAN_

_Leader: _Sootstar - light gray tom _Apprentice, Dawnpaw_

_Deputy: _Deadwish - strange brown tom with dull blue eyes

_Medicine Cat: _Swandrop - white she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead

_Warriors:_

Fallenbird - gray she-cat with brown ears

Littledapple - tiny dappled she-cat

Pinetalon - long furred black tom _Apprentice, Minnowpaw_

Cherrytooth - red and white tom

_Apprentices:_

Minnowpaw - black she-cat (Daughter of Sootstar)

Dawnpaw - light brown she-cat

_Queens: _

Blazedust - grayish brown she-cat (Mother of Deadwish's kit: Starkit)

_Elders:_

Darkfeather - black tom (Father of Pinetalon)

**A/N: So here's the beginning of Oddstar's Legacy. Hope you all enjoy!**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	2. A Sign

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors**

**Chapter Two**

**A Sign **

After the death of Graykit, it seemed as it Oddkit was even more shunned and hated by her Clanmates than ever before. Even Gingerkit and her parents now refused to speak to her. Moonstar tried to talk sense into them, but it didn't appear to do any good. Three moons had passed and now Oddkit found herself lying outside the nursery, well out of the way of any cat who could want to snarl at her for doing something she didn't.

Their apprenticeship was fast approaching and Oddkit found herself dreading the one event she had always looked forward to. No matter which cat Moonstar would choose to mentor her, it wouldn't do any good because they would hate her anyway. She would be six moons old in a mere two days, and Oddkit couldn't stand the thought.

With a sight, the young kit laid her head on her paws, eyes going to Flowerear as she caught sight of the elderly medicine cat padding out of the medicine cat den. Almost half a moon before, Rainfur had been found dead in the forest by what appeared to be a badger attack. Almost as if she could sense Oddkit's eyes on her, Flowerear looked over, lips drawing back into a snarl and her eyes narrowing into a glare.

Oddkit's fur bristled and she glared right back. The two glared at one another for what felt like moons before the medicine cat snorted and made her way out of camp, most likely to collect herbs. Oddkit stared after her as she left - the young cat could have sworn that she'd seen amusement, just a quick flash of it, deep in the old she-cat's eyes.

…

Flowerear padded through the forests that dominated ThunderClan territory, searching for the herbs she knew she would have to re-stock on for leafbare was now upon the Clans once more. Its icy grip sending prey into hiding and causing precious herbs to die.

_I am getting old, _the she-cat thought with a swish of her tail as she began to dig up some comfrey root, knowing it would be needed soon for Sandclaw's aching joints. _Not to mention wrenched claws that apprentices are bound to get, and battle wounds…_

She paused in her digging the roots up. _Honeyfeather's kits will be apprentice soon. Perhaps Gingerkit or Spottedkit will become the medicine cat apprentice. With Rainfur gone and me getting so old, I won't be around much longer…_

Picking up the roots, Flowerear quickly made her way to the abandoned Twoleg nest to gather some of the catmint that grew there. As she was carefully harvesting the leaves, she caught sight of a strange looking flower. It had the same coloring that a tortoiseshell and white she-cat would.

_Spottedkit! _she thought with a purr before pausing and looking closer. Towards the middle of the flower were various colors; amber, red, blue, green, grey, and a strange violet looking color. _How odd… Wait. Not Spottedkit. Oddkit. I have to mentor Oddkit._

With an angry lash of her tail, she looked up at the sky, cursing StarClan. How could they expect her to mentor a cat that is going to destroy ThunderClan in the ways of healing? With a shake of her head, she gathered the comfrey root and catmint and hurried back to camp.

**{x}{x}{x}**

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Moonstar yowled and soon, cats slunk out of their dens and picked themselves up from where they were resting to sit below the Highledge.

Flamepaw and Mintpaw stood just in front of Oddkit and her sister, brimming with excitement. The pair of them would be leaving the apprentice's den today, leaving Oddkit and her sister's as the only apprentices in ThunderClan, since Webpaw had earned his name, Webfur, almost two moons before. Moonstar was staring down at them, her eyes warm.

"First, we have some apprentices who are ready to become warriors," Moonstar meowed. "Flamepaw, Mintpaw, please step forward."

The two cats stepped forward uneasily, but their eyes still held excitement as the leader looked up at the sky.

"I, Moonstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices," Moonstar began. "They have trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Flamepaw, Mintpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Flamepaw meowed confidently.

"I do," Mintpaw said softly, tail tip twitching.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Flamepaw, from this moment you will be known as Flamewhisker. StarClan honors your bravery and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan. Mintpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Mintfrost. StarClan honors your compassion and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Moonstar leapt down and placed her chin atop each of their heads, receiving respectful licks in return before she turned and leapt back on top of the Highledge, allowing the Clan to cheer their names.

"Flamewhisker! Mintfrost! Flamewhisker! Mintfrost!"

The two warriors proudly made their way back into the crowd, taking their seats as the kits stared up at Moonstar with wide eyes. Oddkit felt a rush of excitement, it was their turn now! She would be the best warrior ever, no matter how awful her mentor would be to her.

"Naming apprentices shows that our Clan continues to thrive," Moonstar meowed. "Gingerkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Gingerpaw. Hawkfire, you are ready for another apprentice. You trained Rainleaf well, and you are a skilled fighter and brave, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Gingerpaw."

Gingerpaw's eyes widened as Hawkfire, a large brown tom with ginger paws stood and padded forward to touch noses with her. Gently touching her shoulder with his tail tip, he led her back into the crowd.

"Spottedkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprentice," Moonstar continued. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Spottedpaw. I will be your mentor."

Spottedpaw was nearly bursting with excitement as Moonstar leapt down to touch noses with her before jumping back on top of the Highledge. Spottedpaw went to sit next to Gingerpaw and Hawkfire, still looking stunned.

"Oddkit, you have reached the age of six moons and from this day on you will be known as Oddpaw," Moonstar meowed. "Flowerear."

Oddpaw's eyes widened as the elderly medicine cat stepped forward. She met Flowerear's eyes, but did not see any hostility as the she-cat stopped next to her. Murmurs of confusion and shock were spreading throughout the gathered cats, even her sisters looked surprised.

"Cats of ThunderClan, as you know, I will not be around forever," Flowerear rasped. "So it's time I took an apprentice. I have chosen a cat who has shown energy and initiative. Your next medicine cat will be Oddpaw."

"Oddpaw, do you accept the post of apprentice to Flowerear?" Moonstar asked, gazing at the apprentice with pride.

Oddpaw swallowed thickly. She had to do this; StarClan must have done this for a reason. "I do."

"Then at the half moon you must travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by StarClan before the other medicine cats," Flowerear finished.

"The good wishes of all ThunderClan go with you," Moonstar finished.

"Gingerpaw! Spottedpaw! Oddpaw!" the Clan cheered, although they all hesitated at Oddpaw's name.

She didn't care. She was gazing up at Flowerear in awe. The medicine cat gave a small smile and turned, leading her away, but not before they heard Moonstar announce that Flamewhisker and Mintfrost would have to sit a silent vigil that night.

"Why me?" Oddpaw asked as they entered the medicine cat's den.

"It was StarClan's will, and we will not question that," Flowerear meowed. "Now, then, listen close. I'm going to explain some of the more basic herbs. You must memorize them. You never know when a situation will come up that you may need to order someone to go find an herb and be able to describe it to them."

Oddpaw nodded and listened carefully as Flowerear began spouting off numerous herbs, their uses, and what they looked like. It was somewhat overwhelming, but when Flowerear began quizzing her, she was able to answer almost all of them correctly, even though she had to take a long time to think about it.

_This may just work, _Flowerear thought as she listened to Oddpaw recite the uses of horsetail.

**A/N: Thanks to puzzlefreak14, MW3WW3, and Skymist20 for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to MW3WW3, Skymist20, and spotted fire-star for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to MW3WW3 for adding this story to their alerts.**

**Fun Fact: Minnowpaw of RiverClan was originally Kestralpaw of WindClan, he changed both genders, fur color, and Clans!**

**Please review, I'd love your feedback!**

**~Izzy**


	3. The Half Moon Journey And First Gatherin

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors**

**Chapter Three**

**Half Moon Journey and the First Gathering**

_Borage leaves are low, _Oddpaw thought as she sat in the back of the medicine cat den, looking through the stores. _With Hazelflower and Frostmask both in the nursery, we're going to need that when the kits come in the next couple of moons. We need more dock, too. I suppose I should go and look for some._

"Oddpaw!" Flowerear called and the young cat stood, padding out into the main den.

"Yes, Flowerear?" she asked curiously.

"Did you see what all we need?" Flowerear asked as she applied some horsetail poultice onto a wound Rainleaf received after a border patrol along the ShadowClan border.

"Yes, we need borage and dock the most, but we'll need more horsetail since you just used the last of it," Oddpaw meowed and Flowerear blinked, looking down. "We also need more juniper berries and catmint. Oh, and some more celandine for Sandclaw's eyes."

Flowerear was still staring down at the now bare horsetail stalks. "I suppose I did use what was left. Anyway, I need you to go out with Flamewhisker to find the herbs we need. He'll help you carry them."

Oddpaw flicked her tail uneasily. "Yes, Flowerear."

"You do remember where they grow, don't you?" Flowerear asked.

Oddpaw nodded. "Horsetail and the juniper berry bushes grow close to the WindClan border, borage is near the ShadowClan border, and the catmint and celandine is near the abandoned Twoleg nest."

"Good, now go," Flowerear ordered as she padded to check on Honeyfeather and Darktail, the first two cats to fall victim to Greencough so far this leafbare.

Oddpaw padded out of the den and hesitantly made her way over to where Flamewhisker was laying, sharing prey with his sister. He looked up when she approached, his eyes filled with hate. Most of the Clan had stopped being so outright cruel, but they still didn't like her. She sat down, her tail curling over her paws.

"Flowerear says you have to go with me to gather some herbs," she meowed. "We'll have to go by the WindClan border and then the ShadowClan border before heading to the abandoned Twoleg nest."

Flamewhisker's ears twitched in acknowledgement and he swallowed the last bit of his mouse before getting to his paws. The two padded toward the thorn tunnel and out of camp. They traveled in the direction of the ShadowClan border in silence.

"You're eyes changed colors again," Flamewhisker pointed out after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Really?" Oddpaw meowed. "I haven't seen them today, what color are they this time?"

"The left one's amber, the right one's green," he answered.

She nodded and carefully scanned the undergrowth as they emerged out of the trees near the ShadowClan border. She quickly spotted the borage and hurried over to it, carefully plucking some of it. Flamewhisker settled down to watch her a few feet back near the tree line, leaving the medicine cat apprentice to her thoughts. She had just begun scrapping them together to pick up when a fierce yowl cut trough the silence and a blur crashed into her.

"THUNDERCLAN INTRUDERS!" a small gray she-cat yowled, scoring her hind claws down Oddpaw's exposed belly.

Oddpaw hissed in irritation and thrust up with her hind legs, sending the smaller apprentice flying. "What's wrong with you, mouse-brain?" Oddpaw spat as the apprentice got up, fur bristling. "You don't attack medicine cat apprentices!"

"Dovepaw!"

Flamewhisker suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slamming into Dovepaw and sending her rolling across the border to where three ShadowClan cats were waiting. One was a large light brown tom, another was a black furred tom, and the last was a black and white she-cat.

"Coalwing, doesn't your apprentice know the borders?" Flamewhisker snarled at the black tom. "Or that it is against the warrior code to attack medicine cats or medicine cat apprentices?"

"That land belongs to ShadowClan!" Dovepaw hissed as Oddpaw sat back, licking the scratches on her belly clean.

"ThunderClan has owned this part of land since long before I was born," Oddpaw meowed, scrapping the scattered borage leaves back into a pile. "This is not ShadowClan territory; it hasn't been ShadowClan's since the reign of Firestar. You'd do well to mind borders, Dovepaw."

Dovepaw hissed.

"Moonstar will be hearing about this," Flamewhisker meowed. "Not to mention Flowerear."

The she-cat snorted. "Like we're scared of a half blind medicine cat who's mind is already gone."

Oddpaw bristled, feeling defensive of her mentor. "Flowerear's more sane than any of you flea-bitten crowfood eaters!"

"Enough," the brown tom meowed. "We're leaving. Now."

The ShadowClan cats turned as one and disappeared back into their land. Flamewhisker stared after them for a long while before turning to Oddpaw. He looked down at her scratches and nodded his head.

"They're not too deep, I guess Dovepaw hasn't exactly perfected the belly rake," he meowed. "Come on, let's go get the rest of the herbs you need."

Oddpaw nodded and picked up the borage leaves before the pair of cats went back into the trees, heading on their way. Something in the back of Oddpaw's mind just wouldn't stop thinking that this wasn't the last she'd see of Dovepaw or ShadowClan.

…

"Ready?" Flowerear meowed as her apprentice walked up to her. It was the night of the half moon and they would be going to the Moonpool that night. Oddpaw had officially been training for a half moon, having been apprentice the day after the Gathering.

"Yes," she replied earning a nod from her mentor. "Good. I think the queens will be okay while we're gone. Neither of them are due for another half moon, and no one's caught Greencough recently."

"Plus Darktail and Honeyfeather have recovered from their Greencough and moved back into the warriors den," Oddpaw added as they made they way through the thorn tunnel.

The pair walked on in silence, heading toward the WindClan border and then following the stream up to the cave where the Moonpool was inside. The Clan's other medicine cats were already waiting. The ShadowClan medicine cat was a tiny red furred she-cat. WindClan's was a brown tom with gray paws and a gray tail as well as a gray spot over his right eye. RiverClan's was a pretty white furred she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead.

"Redstreak, Rainbreeze, Swandrop," Flowerear greeted. "This is my new apprentice, Oddpaw."

"Welcome, young Oddpaw," Swandrop, the RiverClan cat greeted.

Redstreak looked intrigued. "So you're the medicine cat apprentice that has Dovepaw's tail in a twist."

Flowerear snorted. "Dovepaw's still on about that?"

Redstreak nodded. "You know what I've told you about Dovepaw, she would find faults with StarClan if she'd dedicate the time to it."

Looking amused, Flowerear padded forward until she was sitting in front of the Moonpool, facing the others. "Oddpaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

Oddpaw stood in front of her, tail curling over her back. "It is."

"Then come forward," Flowerear meowed, and was pleased when Oddpaw walked to stand right in front of her. "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will."

The cats all stepped forward as one each of them bending their heads to lap up some of the cold liquid and then they all laid down in front of the pool, resting their heads on their paws and falling asleep.

_Oddpaw's eyes fluttered open and she carefully got to her paws, looking around. She knew she was in StarClan's hunting grounds, no place could be as beautiful as this moonlight landscape, a place where it looked to be sometime in Greenleaf, and mist shrouded the air._

"_Wow, StarClan is so beautiful," she breathed in awe._

"_Oddpaw!"_

_She turned, surprised to see a silver furred tom padding up to her with a tortoiseshell she-cat at his side._

"_Rainfur!" Oddpaw purred. "Who's your friend?"_

"_This is Spottedleaf, the medicine cat of ThunderClan back when Firestar first joined," Rainfur introduced._

"_Hello, young Oddpaw," Spottedleaf murmured in greeting._

"_H-hello," Oddpaw meowed back. "So I guess I am accepted by StarClan, then."_

_Rainfur looked surprised. "What makes you believe your not?"_

"_Well, everyone in ThunderClan hates me," Oddpaw began but Spottedleaf silenced her with a wave of her tail._

"_They're still on about that old prophecy?" she meowed in surprise. "Didn't you tell Flowerear that she had misinterpreted it, Rainfur?"_

_Rainfur blinked. "I did. But you know, her mind is going, she probably forgot."_

"_What prophecy?" Oddpaw meowed, confused._

_Spottedleaf looked at her, and her voice darkened. "_Thunder and Wind will clash, led by the misty fog, only to fall. The destruction of ThunderClan will come before the misunderstood flower will rise to join the stars._"_

"_Wait! What does that mean?" Oddpaw asked._

"_You must figure it out for yourself, young Oddpaw," Rainfur meowed. "But also remember this. _Shadows will engulf, Rivers will dry, and only the silent storm will save the thunder from the spreading frost._"_

"_Two prophecies?" Oddpaw squeaked, fur bristling. "I'm on an apprentice, I can't figure out two prophecies!"_

"_You must," Spottedleaf replied and the two StarClan cats faded away._

Oddpaw's eyes opened and she quickly sat up, looking around. Redstreak and Rainbreeze were already awake and engaged in a conversation. Flowerear was just stirring, but Swandrop was still asleep. The four cats waited patiently until the RiverClan medicine cat awoke, and they all wished each other good-bye and good luck before heading back to their own clans.

_Misunderstood flower? Silent storm? _Oddpaw thought as she circled her nest and curled up. _What could StarClan mean?_

**{x}{x}{x}**

Over the next half moon, only Frostmask gave birth to her kits, two toms and a she-cat named Frostkit, Snowkit, and Icekit, all of them with pure white fur and blue eyes. Gingerpaw and Spottedpaw had been caught in WindClan territory and had been confined to camp for the next moon, which also meant they weren't allowed to go to the Gathering that night.

She hesitated as one by one the cats made their way across the log bridge. Carefully digging her claws into the tree, she made her way across. The water that had been dripped on the tree after a someone obviously fell in had frozen, leaving a thin coat of ice on some portions. She eventually made it across and jumped down to stand next to her mentor.

"I know you apprentices don't really like sitting with us old and boring medicine cats," Flowerear meowed. "So why don't you go get acquainted with some of the other apprentices and warriors from the other Clans? That way what happened with Dovepaw won't happen again."

Oddpaw nodded eagerly and took off, but not before she caught sight of her eyes in a nearby puddle of water. One was blue; the other was a pretty violet color. With a sigh, she made her way through the gathered cats, stopping when a young warrior smelling of WindClan flicked his tail and called her over. Mintfrost was sitting next to him, and looked less than pleased that he had called Oddpaw over.

"Oddpaw, right?" he asked.

"That's right," she answered hesitantly, looking at Mintfrost who glared at her.

"I'm Lynxwhisker," he meowed, the muscles under his brown pelt rippling. "So you're Flowerear's new apprentice, huh?"

"That's right," Oddpaw answered.

Mintfrost looked ready to burst, leading Oddpaw to believe that the she-cat was jealous of the fact Lynxwhisker was talking to her. With a quite farewell, she left them, leaving a confused Lynxwhisker and smug Mintfrost behind. As she was pushing her way through the crowd, she caught sight of a familiar light gray pelt and made her way over.

"So, it was obvious they were on our land," Dovepaw meowed haughtily. "So I attacked the kit - well, she's small enough to be one, but she's apparently an apprentice. Sent her yowling back into ThunderClan."

"Did you?" Oddpaw meowed. "Funny, my memory must be fuzzy. You attacked me on _ThunderClan _territory while I was gathering herbs."

Dovepaw's ears flattened and she let out an annoyed hiss. The two other apprentices, both smelling of RiverClan, snorted. One was a pretty black she-cat and the other was a light brown she-cat.

"I'm Dawnpaw," the brown she-cat meowed. "And this is Minnowpaw. You already know Dovepaw, by the sound of things."

"Yeah, I do," Oddpaw replied, settling down next to Minnowpaw. "My name is Oddpaw. I'm ThunderClan's new medicine cat apprentice."

Dawnpaw looked impressed. "Flowerear must be a pain in the tail."

"No, we have a mutual dislike of one another, we're a perfect match," Oddpaw meowed.

A yowl sounded from the large oak tree and all the cats went quiet, looking up at the four leaders that were sitting on the lower branches of the tree. On the roots sat the deputies, while warriors, apprentices, and the medicine cats sat in the grassy clearing.

"I will speak first," a light gray tom hissed, stepping forward.

"That's my father, Sootstar," Minnowpaw meowed to Oddpaw.

"RiverClan is doing well this leafbare," Sootstar announced. "We have two new apprentices, Dawnpaw and Minnowpaw. We also have a new warrior, Cherrytooth."

"Cherrytooth! Cherrytooth!" the Clans cheered.

Sootstar stepped back and Moonstar stepped forward, her eyes shining. "All is well in ThunderClan," she meowed. "We have three new warriors, Webfur, Flamewhisker, and Mintfrost."

"Webfur! Flamewhisker! Mintfrost! Webfur! Flamewhisker! Mintfrost!"

"We also have three new apprentices, Gingerpaw and Spottedpaw are apprenticed to Hawkfire and I, and Oddpaw is our new medicine cat apprentice. Also, Frostmask has given birth to three kits, two tomes and a she-cat named Frostkit, Snowkit, and Icekit. Now, onto a more serious matter. Scarstar, your apprentice attacked our medicine cat apprentice when she was gathering herbs near the border."

Scarstar sent Moonstar an angry look. "Perhaps because she was on ShadowClan land."

"The clearing has belonged to ThunderClan for seasons!" Fogmist yowled from below.

"My deputy is right," Moonstar growled. "If we scent ShadowClan in the clearing, then you'd best prepare for battle."

Scarstar hissed. "Very well. ShadowClan is leaving."

"But you haven't shared your news," the final tom meowed, only to be hissed at.

Scarstar leapt down from the trees and with a flick of his tail, led his warriors from the island. Dovepaw spat at Oddpaw before running after her Clan, leaving Oddpaw, Dawnpaw and Minnowpaw staring after her.

"Well," said Mintfrost dryly. "That's the first time I've ever seen the crowfood take itself out."

Snickers erupted from the remaining cats.

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Moonstar - silver furred she-cat with green eyes _Apprentice, Spottedpaw_

**Deputy: **Fogmist - white and gray tom

**Medicine Cat: **Flowerear - dapple furred she-cat _Apprentice, Oddpaw_

**Warriors:**

Hawkfire - brown tom with ginger paws (Brother of Blossomlight) _Apprentice, Gingerpaw_

Blossomlight - brown and tan she-cat (Sister of Hawkfire)

Rainleaf - dark tabby tom

Honeyfeather - cream colored she-cat (Mate of Fogmist. Mother of Graykit, Gingerpaw, Spottedpaw, and Oddpaw)

Webfur - black and white tom (Son of Darktail)

Flamewhisker - tan furred tom (Son of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, brother of Mintpaw)

Mintfrost- brown tabby she-cat (Daughter of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, sister of Flamepaw)

Darktail - black furred tom

**Apprentices:**

Gingerpaw - ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes

Spottedpaw - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Oddpaw - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with different colored eyes that are always changing color

**Queens: **

Frostmask - gray she-cat with a black mask (Mother of Rainleaf's kits: Icekit, Snowkit, and Frostkit)

Hazelflower - ginger and white she-cat (Mate of Darktail)

**Elders: **

Sandclaw - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Honeyfeather)

_SHADOWCLAN_

_Leader: _Scarstar - bulky gray tom covered with scars

_Deputy: _Swftfire - ginger and white she-cat

_Medicine Cat: _Redstreak - red furred she-cat

_Warriors:_

Amberheart - light brown tom with amber eyes

Coalwing - black furred tom _Apprentice, Dovepaw_

Lizardstripe - light brown tom with darker stripes

Nightsong - black and white she-cat

Rockheart - brown tom with blue eyes and a white chest

Treeclaw - brown tom with black stripes

_Apprentices:_

Dovepaw - gray she-cat (Daughter of Scarstar)

_Queens:_

_NO QUEENS_

_Elders: NO ELDERS_

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Stonestar - white tom with gray paws

**Deputy: **Rosefall - brown and white she-cat

**Medicine Cat: **Rainbreeze - brown and gray tom

**Warriors:**

Adderfang - dark brown tom

Creekstone - gray she-cat

Goldenleaf - gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes

Lynxwhisker - brown tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt - dusky brown she-cat

Hollyspots - black tom with white spots

**Apprentices:**

**NO APPRENTICES**

**Queens:**

Jadefur - brown she-cat with green eyes (Mother of Hollyspots kits: Yellowkit and Sagekit)

**Elders:**

**NO ELDERS**

_RIVERCLAN_

_Leader: _Sootstar - light gray tom _Apprentice, Dawnpaw_

_Deputy: _Deadwish - strange brown tom with dull blue eyes

_Medicine Cat: _Swandrop - white she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead

_Warriors:_

Fallenbird - gray she-cat with brown ears

Littledapple - tiny dappled she-cat

Pinetalon - long furred black tom _Apprentice, Minnowpaw_

Cherrytooth - red and white tom

_Apprentices:_

Minnowpaw - black she-cat (Daughter of Sootstar)

Dawnpaw - light brown she-cat

_Queens: _

Blazedust - grayish brown she-cat (Mother of Deadwish's kit: Starkit)

_Elders:_

Darkfeather - black tom (Father of Pinetalon)

**A/N: Thanks to Cinderstar377, LoudPelt, Bluestarisawesome, and Erin Hunteress for reviewing the last chapter! Thanks to RinWolfeh for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to Stormstar321 and Bluestarisawesome for adding this story to their alerts.**

**Fun Fact: Originally, Graykit was going to live and Spottedkit was going to be killed as an apprentice in a freak flood that would result after days of storms in ThunderClan territory.**

**Please review, I'd love the feedback! And WOW! 113 views. Never thought I'd see that after only 2 chapters. All you guys viewing, please drop a review so I know if you'd like more!**

**~Izzy**


	4. Kits and Prisoner

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors**

**Chapter Three**

**Kits and Prisoner**

"Hazelflower is kitting!"

Oddpaw jumped in surprise and looked around. She grabbed some borage and raspberry leaves, knowing she would need them for the kitting. Oh, why had Flowerear had to travel to RiverClan? She hurried from the den and over to the nursery. Darktail was pacing just inside the de, glancing at his mate.

"Out!" Oddpaw snapped. "Before you make her more nervous than she already is."

Darktail opened his mouth to protest, but the medicine cat apprentice skewered him with a look so harsh that he ducked his head and hurried out. Seconds later, her mother pushed her way into the den and padded over. Oddpaw had her paw pressed lightly to Hazelflower's bulging stomach, and a small frown was on her face.

"Three or four kits, it's hard to tell," she meowed. "Honeyfeather, can you go find me a stick?"

Honeyfeather nodded to her daughter and ducked back out of the den only to reappear seconds later with a thick stick, which she passed to the birthing queen to bite down on when she had to push. Oddpaw passed a small bundle of raspberry leaves toward her and the queen quickly ate them, looking only slightly relieved as the pain dulled a little.

"It's time for the first kit," Oddpaw meowed. "Just push when you feel you have to, Hazelflower."

The she-cat nodded before giving a pained yowl that cut through the silence of the night. It took about three pushes for the first kit to emerge. Oddpaw quickly nipped open the sack and furiously licked the small bundles fur the wrong way. The tiny kit was a she-cat cat, a dark brown with white splotches all over and one black spot over her right eye.

"It's a she-cat," Oddpaw announced as she nudged the small kit toward its mother's belly. Right after the kit was situated, another shudder passed through Hazelflower's body as the second kit emerged. This one was a dark red tom.

"A tom," Honeyfeather purred after she had cleaned the second kit, while Oddpaw worked on the third.

"Another she-cat," Oddpaw murmured as she nudged the tiny gold colored she-cat toward her mother.

The last kit was a dark ginger she-cat with a gold tipped tail, and golden paws. The little she-cat gave a mew as Oddpaw nudged it over to Hazelflower. Oddpaw looked at Honeyfeather and nodded, and her mother stood, going to tell Darktail he could enter the nursery. He hurried in, pride shining in his eyes.

"Three she-cats and a tom," Oddpaw announced to him.

"What shall we name them?" Darktail asked his mate, settling down next to her nest.

"Dawnkit for the brown and white she-cat with the black over her eye," Hazelflower meowed.

"Firekit for the tom," Darktail added.

"Goldkit for the golden she-cat." Hazelflower added before looking at Oddpaw. "Oddpaw, you name the last one."

Oddpaw looked taken aback, but looked curiously at the small ginger and gold she-cat. "Sunkit."

"Sunkit," Hazelflower purred. "It's perfect."

Oddpaw pushed the borage leaves toward the queen. "Eat those; they'll help with your milk. I'll go give Moonstar the good news about the new arrivals."

With a dip of her head, Oddpaw turned and padded out of the nursery, making her away across the dark clearing. Most of the cats had slept through the birth, but Honeyfeather was only just returning to the warriors den, and Spottedpaw and Gingerpaw passed her, obviously heading off to see the new kits. Oddpaw hurried to her leader's den.

"Moonstar?" Oddpaw said softly, poking her head through the tendrils blocking the entrance.

Moonstar's head rose and she blinked at the apprentice tiredly. "Yes, Oddpaw?"

"Hazelflower has had four kits, one tom, three she-cats," Oddpaw announced. "Dawnkit, Sunkit, Firekit, and Goldkit."

Moonstar's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful news! And you did well for your first birthing alone."

Oddpaw's pelt flushed. "Thank you."

"Go rest now, Oddpaw," Moonstar advised. "It won't be long before Flowerear returns from aiding RiverClan with their sickness."

Oddpaw dipped her respectively to the leader and backed out of the den, padding toward the medicine cat den. She was surprised when her sisters suddenly cut her off. Their eyes were shining and they were purring.

"You did well, Oddpaw," Gingerpaw meowed. "For it being your first time without Flowerear."

Oddpaw flicked her ears and nodded, before watching them walk back to the apprentice's den. Oddpaw sighed and walked into the medicine cat den, curling up in her nest and quickly falling asleep.

**{x}{x}{x}**

"WindClan is invading!" the yowl had Oddpaw flying up from her nest and over to the stores, gathering the herbs she would need to treat wounds after the battle.

"ENOUGH!" Moonstar's bellow sounded, bring Oddpaw away from the herbs and to the entrance of her den.

Two WindClan warriors stood, a circle of ThunderClan cats around them. They snarled at the ThunderClan cats, but Oddpaw's Clanmates did not back down. Moonstar stood on top of the Highledge, staring down at them.

"Adderfang, Lynxwhisker, what brings you here?" Moonstar asked curiously.

A dark brown tom, who Oddpaw recognized as Adderfang, looked up. "We have come to inform you that we have caught a ThunderClan cat that trespassed onto our territory."

Outraged yowls sounded, but Moonstar silenced them with a flick of her tail. "Oh? And who would that cat be."

"Flowerear."

Oddpaw let out a hiss and pushed her way forward. "Flowerear is a medicine cat; you have no right to take her prisoner."

"She was trespassing," the other tom, Lynxwhisker, replied.

"You knew very well she was returning home from WindClan, you thistle-brained fool!" Oddpaw spat. "She is a medicine cat, what part of that fails to register in your tiny little brain?"

Lynxwhisker snarled, his paw lashing out to claw at her, but Flamewhisker quickly tackled him.

"I'd keep your claws to yourself," Flamewhisker meowed in a dangerously soft voice.

Moonstar was nodding. "Oddpaw speaks the truth, you have no right taking our medicine cat hostage."

Adderfang's ear flicked. "We only came on Stonestar's orders to inform you. We will be leaving now."

"Yes," Moonstar said coldly. "You will. Flamewhisker, Honeyfeather, Mintfrost, and Fogmist, please escort them from our territory."

The selected cats nodded, and formed a tight ring around the WindClan cats, leading them from camp. Oddpaw watched them go, her pelt bristling furiously. How dare those WindClan cats take her mentor hostage!

"What will we do?" Sandclaw, Honeyfeather's mother, meowed from the entrance to the elder's den.

"We will fight to get her back," Moonstar announced. "We attack at dawn."

The remaining cats yowled their agreement as Oddpaw turned on her paws and headed back to her den. She went back over to the herbs and continued gathering those she would need for the impending battle. She wasn't ready to be on her own, she still needed Flowerear.

They had to get Flowerear back.

**A/N: Thanks to EllisTheHunter, Erin Huntress, Egyptian Warrior, Loudpelt, MW3WW3, Guest, and Loudpelt (Again, haha.) for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to Lunara the Ara and Gingersplash of ThunderClan for adding this story to their favorites. **

**I'm glad you guys are liking the story!**

**Fun Fact: Originally, Sunkit and Firekit were not going to survive the kitting, but I quickly changed my mind, and instead kits sometime in the future will be suffering their fate. I just loved Firekit and Sunkit too much. :3**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	5. WindClan vs ThunderClan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.**

**Chapter Five**

**WindClan vs. ThunderClan**

The next morning at dawn, Moonstar was gathering the first wave of fighters to attack the WindClan camp. Oddpaw sat in the entrance to the medicine cat den and watched as the cats gathered beneath the Highledge, an excited gleam in their eyes.

"The first wave will consist of Fogmist, Rainleaf, Blossomlight, Webfur and Gingerpaw," Moonstar ordered. "The second wave will be myself, Hawkfire, Honeyfeather, Flamewhisker, Mintfrost, Darktail, and Spottedpaw. Oddpaw and Sandclaw, our only elder will remain here with the queens and kits. When you are badly injured, or can no longer fight, fall back to camp so that you can be tended to. Spottedpaw, Gingerpaw, I want your main focus to be getting Flowerear out of WindClan and back to camp."

The two apprentices nodded, looking slightly put out. Oddpaw shuffled her feet anxiously as Fogmist led the first group away, and saw Gingerpaw looked back as she was led away, raising her tail to her sisters in farewell. Oddpaw and Spottedpaw both raised their tails in reply. It wasn't much longer before Moonstar led the second patrol out of camp and into the direction of WindClan territory.

Oddpaw stood and paced back and forth across the clearing, her tail tip twitching anxiously as she wanted for someone, anyone, to return from the battle. It felt like forever before a familiar tan furred tom was stumbling back into camp. Oddpaw was startled and nearly jumped from her fur as Flamewhisker collapsed. She hurried over and grabbed him by the scruff, dragging the now unconscious tom into her den. She quickly set to cleaning his wound before going to get the bundle of herbs she had prepared the night before.

"That's nasty," Oddpaw murmured as she examined a large tear on his stomach. "Someone either has a great belly rake or an awful bite."

Oddpaw grabbed some cobwebs and began dressing some of the bleeding wounds. He had obviously put up quite the fight, the poor tom. Her mind went back to the day before when he had tackled Lynxwhisker. Had Lynxwhisker been the one who did this?

"Oddpaw, back away, let me handle it," a calm voice came from the entrance, making Oddpaw realized she had been staring at Flamewhisker's wounds with wide-eyes.

"Flowerear! You're okay!" Oddpaw said in surprise as her mentor walked over and nudged her aside.

The elderly she-cat snorted. "Of course I am! Even those WindClan idiots wouldn't hurt me of all cats. Plus, I gave this one… Hollyspots, I believe, a few good scars on his precious face. Has a bad attitude, that one."

Oddpaw stared at her mentor as the cat began dressing Flamewhisker's wounds with no problem.

"Help! Moonstar's losing a life!"

Oddpaw's fur bristled and Flowerear went rigid with shock. Both the cats, as the medicine cats of ThunderClan, knew that this was Moonstar's final life. Quickly finishing with Flamewhisker's wound, Flowerear hurried out with a bundle of herbs, Oddpaw hurrying out behind her with two more stuffed in her jaws; just in case someone else was hurt.

Flowerear quickly headed over to Moonstar's still body, examining the wounds. The medicine cat checked a few things before shaking her head and looking right up at Fogmist, who looked shocked. "We will travel to the Moonpool tonight," the medicine cat announced to the stunned tom, and the Clan, as well.

Oddpaw walked over to Blossomlight and narrowed her eyes as she examined the she-cats various scratches. They were nothing serious, but if they were to get infected, it would be bad. "Medicine cat den," she ordered the she-cat. "You, too, Rainleaf, Hawkfire. Medicine cat den."

The three cats all gave exasperated sighs before getting to their paws and going into the medicine cat den. None of the other cats had serious injures, so Oddpaw followed after them to take care of their wounds. It soon spread around camp that Moonstar had been killed by Stonestar himself, and that the tom had purposefully aimed for her throat.

Later that evening, Fogmist left with Flowerear for the Moonpool and returned as Fogstar. As soon as they arrived back in camp, it was nearly moonhigh, and it he jumped to the top of the Highledge, calling for a Clan meeting.

"It is time for a new deputy to be announced," Fogstar said once all the cats were staring at him expectantly. "I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our ancestors may hear and approve my choice. Hawkfire will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

Hawkfire stood. "I am extremely grateful to be chosen. I will serve ThunderClan till my last breathe."

"Hawkfire! Hawkfire! Hawkfire!" the Clan cheered.

"Also, an apprentice is now without her mentor," Fogstar continued. "Rainleaf, you will continue Spottedpaw's training."

Rainleaf nodded and touched noses with his new apprentice, who had a deep sadness in her eyes.

Oddpaw felt full of grief as she curled up in her nest that night. Moonstar had been the only cat that was nice to her back when she was a kit. It was a quarter moon until the next Gathering, and she knew that things would not end well between WindClan and ThunderClan.

**{x}{x}{x}**

Oddpaw sat with the other ThunderClan cats, her fur sparkling in the moonlight as the Clan waited for the last of the WindClan cats to cross the bridge. She opened her mouths lightly inhaling the scents coming from the island. ShadowClan was already present, but she couldn't smell RiverClan. It was odd, considering the island was on RiverClan territory, RiverClan was usually the first ones on the island.

"C'mon, Sagepaw!" a young WindClan tom encouraged a black and white she-cat with a bushy brown tail. "It's easy!"

The she-cat nervously started her way across, she was the last WindClan cat. Oddpaw watched the she-cat warily, standing next to her father and Hawkfire near the front. Flowerear had stayed behind this Gathering because Frostkit and Dawnkit had both gotten sick with something. Her eyes widened as the she-cat, Sagepaw, lost her footing and toppled into the water, earning a terrified yowl from the tom, who was most likely her brother.

Without thinking, Oddpaw charged forward, ignoring her father's calls for her to come back, she darted across to the middle of the bridge and followed Sagepaw into the cold water. The apprentice was desperately trying to stay above water as the older medicine cat apprentice waded toward her.

"Hold on, Sagepaw!" she called. "Don't panic! I won't let anything happen to you. Listen to me. You have to stop flailing."

"I'll drown!" Sagepaw wailed.

"No! You won't. Just stop flailing and slowly move your right front and back paws and then your left front and back paws. Ready? Right. Left. Right. Left."

The apprentice slowly began doing as instructed, and found herself better able to stay above. She was clearly in shock, her wide eyes looking shocked and full of fear, but she kept her calm until Oddpaw made it over to her, ducking under the water and coming up under the she-cat, who dug her paws into Oddpaw's fur to make sure she could hold on. Once sure the cat was situated, Oddpaw began the swim to the shore of the island. Her father stood there, along with Stonestar, both of them looking terrified as the apprentices finally made it to shore. Jadefur, who Oddpaw remembered as being announce one Gathering as Sagepaw's mother, hurried over and begun licking her kit frantically to dry her off, while Honeyfeather quickly did the same for Oddpaw.

"A swimming ThunderClan cat, now I've seen everything," a cat muttered in the crowd, reeking of fish. It appeared RiverClan had arrived amidst the chaos.

Fogstar's tail twitched, eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay, Oddpaw?"

Oddpaw nodded, still shivering. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"That was brave, young one," Stonestar meowed, dipping his head to her in respect.

Oddpaw was surprised at the gesture. Hardly ever did a leader openly show respect to an apprentice, let alone one from a different Clan. Once both she-cats were dry, the leaders led their Clans completely onto the island and all four leaders gathered up in the tree.

Oddpaw weaved through the chattering cats, watching as the leaders talked quietly up in the branches. She noticed both Stonestar's and Fogstar's fur beginning to bristle as the spoke heatedly and rolled her eyes. So much for her saving Sagepaw's life causing a temporary peace between the two warring Clans. She joined Swandrop, Rainbreeze, and Redstreak who all meowed words of concern, asking if she was feeling okay after her swim.

She purred in amusement at her friends concern. "I'm fine."

Flamewhisker pushed his way over, his wounds were completely healed, but he had awful scars from the wounds that Lynxwhisker ("I KNEW IT!" Oddpaw had yowled victoriously when he told her) had caused.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously, sniffing at her pelt.

"Flamewhisker, quit acting like a brooding queen!" Oddpaw hissed playfully, swatting at him.

His whiskers twitched in amusement. "Try not to be the hero again anytime soon. You nearly scared the whiskers off me! I thought I'd be joining the elders den early, you gave me gray fur!"

"Did not! You're just old," she teased.

"I'm three moons older than you, thank you very much," he replied in mock anger.

"FLAMEWHISKER!" Mintfrost yowled at her brother across the clearing. "GET OVER HERE NOW!"

The tan furred tom sighed in exasperation before getting to his paws and padding off. "Coming! Bye, Oddpaw.'

"Bye!"

"Oddpaw," Redstreak began cautiously. "You know the medicine cat code -"

"Says nothing about being _just friends,_" Oddpaw spat. "Don't but into my life, Redstreak. You're my friend, but it's not your place. I am well away of what the code says. I am not Leafpool or Yellowfang."

A yowl began the Gathering and Scarstar stepped forward first. "All is well in ShadowClan. Prey is starting to return as leafbare draws to its close and Nightsong has moved into the nursery expecting Rockheart's kits. Treeclaw has also retired to the elder's den after many moons of faithful service to his Clan."

"Treeclaw! Treeclaw!" the cats cheered while others murmured excitedly. Both Nightsong and Rockheart were well-liked among the other Clan cats.

Sootstar of RiverClan stepped forward next. "RiverClan is doing well. The fish from out river keeps food in out bellies. Blazedust has returned to her warrior duties and her daughter, Starpaw, has been apprenticed to Littledapple."

Fogstar stepped up next, brushing passed a hissing Stonestar. "WindClan has caused many grievances for ThunderClan this moon! They kidnapped our medicine cat as she was returning home from RiverClan and held her prisoner! They refused to give her back so ThunderClan was forced to take her back. In the battle, Stonestar killed Moonstar!"

Gasps echoed from some of the cats while the WindClan cats' fur began to bristle as they hissed at the ThunderClan cats.

"I have received my nine lives and leader now, and I will not let WindClan get away with these treacherous acts," Fogstar swore. "In other news. Two queens have give birth this past moon. Frostmask has two she-cats and a tom named Frostkit, Snowkit, and Icekit. Hazelflower has three she-cats and a tom named Dawnkit, Goldkit, Sunkit, and Firekit."

Stonestar pushed his way forward. "ThunderClan's medicine cat was trespassing!" he snarled, eyes narrowed at Fogstar. "This means a war with ThunderClan!"

Fogstar snarled back and at once, the two toms turned on each other. Oddpaw was horrified as she watched the clearing explode with screeching, fighting cats. RiverClan joined as well, siding with ThunderClan, while ShadowClan fought on Windclan's side. Flamewhisker and Lynxwhisker were a spitting bundle of fur as they rolled passed.

"FLAMEWHISKER! STOP!" Oddpaw yowled as she flew to her feet, looking around only to find Sootstar and Scarstar were now also locked in a fierce battle. "STOP! THIS IS AGAINST THE WILL OF STARCLAN! YOU MUST NOT -"

The wind was knocked out of her as a warrior slammed into her, scoring his claws along her flank. The tom reeked of ShadowClan. He was a light brown tom with amber eyes that Oddpaw knew as Amberheart. Realizing whom he had attacked the tom growled and backed off, turning and darting back into the fray. Oddpaw stood again, having separated from the other medicine cats. Her eyes narrowed furiously. How dare the Clans disrespect the code like this?

Avoiding the fighting cats, she scaled up the tree, even higher than where the branches the leaders fought on a quarter of the way up were. She reached about halfway to the top before turning. Both her eyes were an eerie red, something that had never happened before. Opening her mouth, she let out a bone-chilling yowl.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

The fighting ceased at the yowl, sending fear shooting through every cat's bodies as heads slowly turned to the tree, landing on the apprentice. Oddpaw's sides heaved as she glared down at them as the leaders stopped fight. Fogstar's gray and white pelt was matted with fur, blood pouting from a throat wound as well as other serious wounds. His eyes turned upward, surprised that such a yowl could sound from his tiny daughter. Stonestar was also badly injured, as were Sootstar and Scarstar.

"Are you all mouse-brained?" she snarled. "You should be ashamed! You're leaders, not newborn kits! Fighting over something so… so pointless! Some example you're setting for all your warriors and new apprentices. Hopefully they never make stupid decisions like starting a fight at a Gathering. What is wrong with the four of you? You don't deserve your positions if you can't even keep one night of peace!"

Some of the warriors stared at her with wide eyes, unable to believe she was speaking to Clan leaders in such a way.

Suddenly a gasp sounded. "IT'S STARCLAN!"

Surprised, Oddpaw looked over to her side, surprised to see four large, starry cats next to her. One of them was Moonstar, who was looking at Fogstar with disappointment evident in her eyes. The other three she didn't know personally, but recognized from elder's tales. The large brown tom with a ginger tipped tail was Burnstar, the leader before Scarstar. In addition, there were former WindClan leader Coalstar, and RiverClan's former leader Streamstar.

"It is rather sad," Moonstar announced. "That an apprentice knows more about how to keep peace than the leaders we have chosen for our Clans. Each one of you should be extremely ashamed. Fights have occurred at Gatherings before, but never to this extent. It is outrageous and an insult to your ancestors."

Burnstar spoke next. "Scarstar, you know better than to get involved in another Clan's problems. Let ThunderClan and WindClan fight their own battles - a pointless battle it may be - but it is their fight to endure."

"The same goes for RiverClan," Streamstar meowed, her starry tail lashing. "Leave the other Clans to their own issues."

"Taking a medicine cat as prisoner is wrong," Coalstar meowed coldly, eyes locked on Stonestar's. "Never make that mistake again. And remember the blood that has been shed tonight. All of the leaders lost two of their lives this night, in a pointless fight that should not have happened. You are all too reckless for your own good. Numerous warriors are injured, and newly named apprenticed are terrified by what they have witnessed. In fact, Stonestar, you owe Oddpaw a thank you. Much more than the one you gave. Sagepaw would have drowned if not for her."

Stonestar growled, but did not argue.

"This Gathering is over!" Moonstar announced. "All of you return home, and when you gather again next moon, it will be a night of peace."

The StarClan cats vanished, but Moonstar remained, staring at Oddpaw intensely. "Remember the prophecy, Oddpaw."

As Moonstar vanished, the prophecies Oddpaw had heard nearly two moons before replayed in her head.

_Thunder and Wind will clash, led by the misty fog, only to fall. The destruction of ThunderClan will come before the misunderstood flower will rise to join the stars. Shadows will engulf, Rivers will dry, and only the silent storm will save the thunder from the spreading frost._

**A/N: Thanks to Kitko Hime, tufted, Erin Hunteress, Loudpelt, and fernblaze for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to tufted, Kitko Hime, fernblaze, and Erin Hunteress for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to tufted, ShinigamiinPeru, Kitko Hime, and fernblaze for adding this story to their alerts.**

**Fun fact: Originally, Spottedpaw was going to die during her assessment when being attacked by a badger, but instead I decided to let her live and take on the name Spottedcloud, while originally Gingerblaze's name was Gingerpool.**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	6. New Names

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors**

**Chapter Six**

**New Names**

In the wake of the Gathering, things were tense between the Clans, but just as StarClan had ordered the next Gathering, and the other three following it went by in peace. In the four moons since the fight, Oddpaw had grown in size, and had become even better friend with not only Flamewhisker, but his sister Mintfrost as well. She was also getting closer with her sisters, Spottedpaw and Gingerpaw, both of whom were out on their last assessment to see if they were ready for their warrior names. It would be two short moons until both Frostmask and Hazelflower's kits would be ready to be apprenticed, and even with new warriors going it, it would be a stretch to find a mentor for all of them, ThunderClan had never had so many apprentices at one time.

Flowerear seemed to be deteriorating mind wise, and sometimes it was as if she forgot she was a Clan cat at all. She would often start yowling when talking to someone, demanding to know who they were, but when it came to remembering herbs, her mind was flawless.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Fogstar yowled.

Oddpaw's ears twitched, feeling excited. Her sisters must be getting their names, which means they must have done well on their hunting assessment. She hurried out and went to sit at the front, behind her sisters who were nearly bouncing with excitement as their father stared down at the pair of them with pride gleaming in his eyes.

"Naming warriors is very important, for it shows our clan grows stronger," Fogstar meowed. "I, Fogstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Spottedpaw, Gingerpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do," Spottedpaw meowed nervously.

"I do," Gingerpaw answered proudly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names," Fogstar meowed proudly. "Spottedpaw, from this moment you will be known as Spottedcloud. StarClan honors your warmth and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

He placed his chin on top of her head and Spottedcloud licked his shoulder respectfully.

"Gingerpaw from this moment you will be known as Gingerblaze. StarClan honors your wisdom and patience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

"Spottedcloud! Gingerblaze! Spottedcloud! Gingerblaze!" Oddpaw yowled loudly along with her Clans, making sure she was the first to run up and congratulate her sisters.

"Congratulations!" she purred.

Gingerblaze flicked her tail. "Maybe you'll get your full medicine cat name tonight," she meowed cheerfully. "I hope Flowerear chooses a good name for you. Like Oddeyes."

Oddpaw glared at her sister.

"Or not."

"ODDPAW!" Flowerear yowled. "GET BACK IN HERE AND SORT THE STORES!"

Oddpaw sighed and padded away from her sisters, who were now being surrounded by their mother and other warriors. Oddpaw padded into the den to find Flowerear fast asleep and felt annoyance building. She stalked back to the stores and began sorting through the herbs that had been gathered earlier that morning, putting them where they needed to go.

Once the herbs were sorted she stood, decided she needed to go for a walk to stretch her legs. She was just about to head out through the thorn tunnel when Flamewhisker hurried over.

"Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

"For a walk," she answered. "Flowerear's been driving me crazy lately."

He purred. "Understandable. Can I come with you?"

Oddpaw hesitated. She had begun noticing more and more the sometimes moony look Flamewhisker would get when around her. It was flattering to know that he liked her that way, but she was a medicine cat. She knew she couldn't break the code, she wasn't even sure if she liked him that way.

_Which I don't, _she thought hastily with a glance up at the sky, as if StarClan knew she was unsure.

"Okay, sure," she answered, forcing a purr. His eyes lit up and her heart clenched. _He really likes me. I didn't even want to be a medicine cat apprentice! It was StarClan's will!_

However, her internal struggle received no encouraging answer from StarClan. Only silence as she and Flamewhisker walked through the forest, pelts barely brushing.

**{x}{x}{x}**

Oddpaw sat before her mentor nervously, feeling the gaze of the other medicine cats on her pelt. When Flowerear had said that they had a ceremony to perform, she had been shocked.

"I, Flowerear, medicine cat of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with you help, she will serve her Clan for many moons," Flowerear paused, her eyes falling on her apprentice. Oddpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Oddpaw meowed confidently.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Oddpaw from this moment on you will be known as Oddflower. StarClan honors your wisdom and your compassion, and we welcome you as full medicine cat of ThunderClan."

"Oddflower! Oddflower! Oddflower!" the other chanted before the medicine cats all stepped forward to lap up some of the water from the Moonpool, all of them falling asleep.

_Oddflower slowly padded through StarClan's territory. Wasn't a cat going to come and speak to her? She knew she wouldn't always get dreams, but most of the time Rainfur or someone else would show up to talk._

"_Hello, Oddflower," a gentle voice mewed as a pale brown tabby she-cat with a white chest and white paws padded into view._

_Oddflower's ears twitched and she turned her head toward the cat. "Who are you?"_

"_I am Leafpool," the she-cat replied. "I have come to talk to you about Flamewhisker."_

_Oddflower's ears flattened against her head. "What about my _friend_?"_

_Leafpool purred in amusement, amber eyes filled with a sad longing. "You know you cannot be with him. It's against the medicine cat code."_

"_I know that!" Oddflower snapped. "And I don't plan to break the code so butt out!" _

"_I'm afraid I can't -" Leafpool began but was surprised when the she-cat multi-colored apprentice narrowed her eyes, one blue, and one amber, at her. The two stared at one another before Oddflower snarled and turned, running off._

_Leafpool stared after her and then let out a sigh as the apprentice disappeared. "If she had listened, I could have told her they'd be able to be together some day."_

Oddflower's eyes opened and she sat up, she was surprised to see that Redstreak was the only other cat awake, while Swandrop, Rainbreeze, and Flowerear were still sleeping near the pool. The she-cat grumbled under her breath tail lashing angrily as she walked over to sit next to the red furred she-cat. Redstreak looked at her worriedly.

"Care to talk about what's got your tail in a twist?" Redstreak asked curiously.

Oddflower dug her claws into the ground. "Stupid StarClan putting their stupid noses where they don't belong."

Redstreak's whiskers twitched. "Would this happen to involve a certain tan furred ThunderClan tom?"

"Wha- NO!" Oddflower said hastily, but knew that Redstreak wasn't fooled.

"Quit gossiping, you two," Flowerear grumbled as she stood, followed by the other medicine cats. "Come on, Oddflower, let us go home."

Oddflower sighed and got to her paws, waving her tail in farewell to the other medicine cats as she followed Flowerear from the cave and back towards ThunderClan territory. Oddflower stared at the ground most of the way back her tail dragging through the dirt and twigs on the ground. She had two prophecies to unravel and now the added stress from everyone about her being friends with Flamewhisker. Of course, she knew Flamewhisker liked her as more than a friend, but she knew they couldn't act on it and he did, too…

"Oddflower, Leafpool visited me," Flowerear began. "You know she wasn't done talking to you -"

"I know," Oddflower grumbled. "But I was sick of cats treating me like I'm going to break the code when I've said hundreds of times I hadn't."

"Don't start exaggerating," Flowerear snapped moodily. "She was going to tell you something important and -"

A snarl sounded from the underbrush and the two she-cats froze. Slowly, a muzzle came out from under a nearby bush. It was red with a tinge of silver. A large red head followed, and the fox stared at them with beady black eyes. It lunged, tackling Flowerear. The she-cat snarled and swiped her claws at the fox's face.

Oddflower was frozen, her fur fluffing in fear. Flowerear was struggling with the fox and could smell her apprentices' fear scent. Oddflower hadn't seen a fox since the one that killed Graykit. Flowerear growled and dug her claws into the fox's left eye, making it yelp in pain.

"Oddflower! Run!" Flowerear yowled. "GO!"

Oddflower was trembling as she slowly back up, eyes wide. She was going the opposite direction of camp as she turned and bolted toward WindClan, if she hurried, she could catch Swandrop and Rainbreeze. She ran past the markers and into WindClan, making sure to stay within three tail lengths of the lake. She ran until her paws were aching and finally the two cats came into sight.

"HELP!" she yowled, making their ears twitch in surprise as they turned.

"Oddflower? What's wrong?" Swandrop asked the trembling she-cat.

"F-Flowerear…." Oddflower gasped out. "Fo-fox… fox…"

"She's in shock," Rainbreeze growled irritably. "I have to get her something. She'll have to come with me. I'll send help for Flowerear."

Swandrop looked uncertain, knowing ThunderClan and WindClan had a very tense relationship at the moment. However, seeing the condition of shock Oddflower was in, and knowing RiverClan warriors would never reach Flowerear in time had the she-cat nodding in agreement.

"Alright," she meowed finally, brushing her tail comfortingly against Oddflower's flank. "Good luck, dear. I hope you get over whatever shock you're in and I give my best to Flowerear's well being."

Swandrop watched as Rainbreeze helped the she-cat in the direction of WindClan's camp, surprised at how gentle the irritable tom could be when he really wanted to be. Swandrop looked up the moon, a foreboding building in her chest. Someone would be joining StarClan, and she had a terrible feeling it would be Flowerear.

The WindClan camp was nearly silent except for the guard. The cat hissed when he saw Oddflower with Rainbreeze, but he did not question. Rainbreeze ordered the cat to shut up and go get Stonestar as he led Oddflower toward the medicine cat den and began rifling through for herbs.

A few minutes later, Stonestar pushed his way into the den, looking down at the shaking she-cat in concern. "What has happened to her?"

"Shock," Rainbreeze replied as he pushed a small bundle of chamomile toward the she-cat, who immediately licked them up and chew them to swallow. "She and Flowerear were on their way back when a fox attacked."

Stonestar paused. "She's Honeyfeather's kit, isn't she?"

Rainbreeze nodded. "Yes, and it was Oddflower's sister Graykit that was killed by a fox many moons ago. That would explain the shock."

Oddflower blinked, the chamomile having soothed her nerves. "Flowerear's in trouble. We have to help her."

Stonestar flicked his tail. "We will. She is well enough to go home now, isn't she?"

Rainbreeze hesitated. "You'd have to keep a good eye on her to make sure she doesn't go back into shock, but yes. She should be fine."

Oddflower stood on shaky paws and followed Stonestar out. The large gray tom glanced around at his warriors, most of which had awakened upon learning that Oddflower was in the camp.

"Goldenleaf, Mousepelt and Jadefur," he called. "We will be heading to ThunderClan to escort Oddflower home."

A gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes stood. "Why?"

"Her mentor was attacked by a fox," Stonestar continued. "We will go and help, and then escort them home."

Goldenleaf dipped her head in respect as a dusky brown she-cat and a brown she-cat with green eyes stood. They all joined the leader and medicine cat as they exited the WindClan camp.

Oddflower stared at the ground as the group ran across the moorland toward ThunderClan. She couldn't believe she had just frozen like that, running like a scared kit instead of staying to help her mentor. When they reached ThunderClan, Stonestar flicked his tail for her to lead toward where the fox had attacked. The group proceeded with caution as they entered the small, blood covered clearing.

Oddflower let out a wail of grief, bounding over to a bloody mass of fur in the center. "Flowerear! No!"

Her mentor was dead and the fox was nowhere in sight. The WindClan cats stood back, eyes filled with concern as they watched the apprentice grieve for her fallen mentor, the she-cats grief filled cries filling the silent forest and sending chills down their spines.

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Fogstar - white and gray tom

**Deputy: **Hawkfire - brown tom with ginger paws (Brother of Blossomlight)

**Medicine Cat: **Oddflower - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with different colored eyes that are always changing color

**Warriors:**

Blossomlight - brown and tan she-cat (Sister of Hawkfire)

Rainleaf - dark tabby tom

Honeyfeather - cream colored she-cat (Mate of Fogmist. Mother of Graykit, Gingerpaw, Spottedpaw, and Oddpaw)

Webfur - black and white tom (Son of Darktail)

Flamewhisker - tan furred tom (Son of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, brother of Mintfrost)

Mintfrost- brown tabby she-cat (Daughter of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, sister of Flamewhisker)

Darktail - black furred tom

Gingerblaze - ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes

Spottedcloud - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentices:**

No Apprentices At This Time

**Queens: **

Frostmask - gray she-cat with a black mask (Mother of Rainleaf's kits: Icekit, Snowkit, and Frostkit)

Hazelflower - ginger and white she-cat (Mate of Darktail. Mother of Dawnkit, Firekit, Goldkit, and Sunkit)

**Elders: **

Sandclaw - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Honeyfeather)

_SHADOWCLAN_

_Leader: _Scarstar - bulky gray tom covered with scars

_Deputy: _Swiftfire - ginger and white she-cat

_Medicine Cat: _Redstreak - red furred she-cat

_Warriors:_

Amberheart - light brown tom with amber eyes

Coalwing - black furred tom _Apprentice, Dovepaw_

Lizardstripe - light brown tom with darker stripes

Rockheart - brown tom with blue eyes and a white chest

_Apprentices:_

Dovepaw - gray she-cat (Daughter of Scarstar)

_Queens:_

Nightsong - black and white she-cat (Expecting Rockheart's kits)

_Elders: _Treeclaw - brown tom with black stripes

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Stonestar - white tom with gray paws

**Deputy: **Rosefall - brown and white she-cat

**Medicine Cat: **Rainbreeze - brown and gray tom

**Warriors:**

Adderfang - dark brown tom _Apprentice, Sagepaw_

Goldenleaf - gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes

Lynxwhisker - brown tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt - dusky brown she-cat _Apprentice, Yellowpaw_

Hollyspots - black tom with white spots

Jadefur - brown she-cat with green eyes (Mate of Hollyspots. Mother of Yellowpaw and Sagepaw)

**Apprentices:**

Yellowpaw - brown tom with yellow eyes

Sagepaw - black and white she-cat with a brown tail and green eyes

**NO APPRENTICES**

**Queens:**

Creekstone - gray she-cat (Expecting Stonestar's kits)

**Elders:**

**NO ELDERS**

_RIVERCLAN_

_Leader: _Sootstar - light gray tom _Apprentice, Dawnpaw_

_Deputy: _Deadwish - strange brown tom with dull blue eyes

_Medicine Cat: _Swandrop - white she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead

_Warriors:_

Fallenbird - gray she-cat with brown ears

Littledapple - tiny dappled she-cat _Apprentice, Starpaw_

Pinetalon - long furred black tom _Apprentice, Minnowpaw_

Cherrytooth - red and white tom

Blazedust - grayish brown she-cat (Mate of Deadwish. Mother of Starpaw)

_Apprentices:_

Minnowpaw - black she-cat (Daughter of Sootstar)

Dawnpaw - light brown she-cat

Starpaw - strange and mysterious pure black she-cat with an odd star shaped white spot on her nose (Daughter of Blazedust and Deadwish)

_Queens: _

NO QUEENS

_Elders:_

Darkfeather - black tom (Father of Pinetalon)

**A/N: Thanks to Kitko Hime, AtomicFail, tufted, SwiftStar, Silver Sakura-hime, ShinigamiinPeru, and Jaywing for reviewing the last chapter. (JAYWING - ALL WILL BE REVEALED THROUGHOUT THE STORY). Thanks to Silver Sakura-hime and KyuubiCat1 for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to KyuubiCat1 and AtomicFail for adding this story to their alerts.**

**Fun Fact: Oddpaw's medicine cat name was originally going to be Oddcloud, but I felt the 'cloud' ended better suited Spottedpaw.**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	7. When Hope Is Gone

**Disclaimer: I do not own warriors.**

**Chapter Seven**

**When Hope Is Gone**

Oddflower's grief did not subside as she leaned against Stonestar for support as the tom led the way toward the ThunderClan camp. She was absolutely consumed in her grief, unable to even glance back at the body of Flowerear that was being carried by Jadefur and Goldenleaf.

Honeyfeather was on guard duty. When she saw the condition her daughter was in, she let out a cry and run forward, taking Oddflower from Stonestar with a fierce glare. She gazed over the WindClan cats, eyes widening when they found Flowerear's body.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"Fox," Stonestar answered shortly, padding through the thorn tunnel.

Honeyfeather's cry had brought warriors and Fogstar from their dens. Gingerblaze and Spottedcloud hurried over to Oddflower, murmuring words of concern at the state she was in. Oddflower shook her head and sat down, staring at the ground with grief filled eyes.

Fogstar walked over to Stonestar and the two leaders talked for a long while as Jadefur and Goldenleaf set Flowerear's body down in the middle of the clearing. After Fogstar and Stonestar had finished talking, the leader walked over to her body and gently placed his nose against her shoulder. Oddflower stood and walked over to stand next to her father. The Clan sat a quiet vigil for Flowerear that night, and no cat could bring themselves to tell Oddflower everything would be okay. The look on her face was so devastated that they couldn't bear to tell such bold-faced lie; they knew it would be a long time until things were okay.

**{x}{x}{x}**

"FIRE!"

The yowl shocked Oddflower out of her sleep and she groggily got to her paws. Shaking her head, she gazed around, spotting the sleeping form of Blossomlight in the corner of the den. The she-cat had spent a lot of time with Flowerear and Rainfur when she'd been injured as an apprentice. Moons spent in the medicine cat's den had left her with ample knowledge of herbs, and she had stepped in when Oddflower's grief took longer to subside then any cat thought, and the two had been working together.

"Blossomlight! Wake up!" she hurried over and nudged the she-cat's side, her sides heaving as she coughed. The smoke from the fire was already thick and filled the air.

Blossomlight did not stir.

Oddflower filled with grief as she realized the she-cat had died peacefully in her sleep from the smoke. Leaving the warrior's body, she hurried over to the herbs, piling them up in large leaves she had gathered and packing them together to be easier to carry. She was able to fit four large bundles in her mouth, to her amazement, ad she hurried out. Two large trees had already crashed down into the clearing, both of them burning with dangerous fire. Unable to see the other side of the clearing, she hurried to the nursery, the only other den on this side of the hollow. Pushing through the entrance she saw the kits gathered at the back, mewling for their mother's, who lay motionless on the ground, covered in burns.

"ODDFLOWER!" Her ears pricked at the yowl from the other side of the hollow.

_Flamewhisker. _Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest, but she had bigger problems. Hurrying over to the kits, she set down the bundles and looked at the two groups of kits. Only a half moon away from their apprenticeship, she hadn't noticed how much they had grown in the moon and a half since Flowerear's death. Icekit, Snowkit, and Frostkit huddled together in a large group of white. Dawnkit, Firekit, Goldkit and Sunkit were wailing, eyes on their mother's body.

"Calm down, kits," she murmured comfortingly, giving each kit reassuring licks on the head. "Just calm down. I'm going to dig a hole in the back of the nursery, then I want four of you're to carry those herbs for me, and I'll lead you all somewhere safe, okay?"

The kits nodded, bodies shaking as Oddflower tore into the bramble wall of the nursery. Once the hole was big enough, the kits slipped through, Frostkit and her siblings each carried a bundle and Dawnkit carried the last one. Once all of the kits were out, Oddflower squeezed out and leader them around a large group of bushes and other things before coming out in the forest. With a sigh, she began walking in the direction of the training hollow, sure that would be where the Clan went. The fire was spreading more quickly now, and as she and the kits broke into a run, she could see prey fleeing the forest.

Once they reached the training hollow, the Clan was not there. Oddflower opened her mouth to scent the air, and she could smell that the Clan had gone toward the ShadowClan border, but there were a few heading toward the WindClan border as well. She hesitated, unsure of which way to go. ShadowClan wasn't the most friendly, and she didn't want to go that way with kits, but if they went through WindClan, maybe she and the kits could shelter at the Horseplace. Oddflower knew a cat that lived there, a she-cat named Arrow and her mate Leopard.

"Follow me," she meowed finally, turning to the direction of WindClan.

By the time they actually made it to the border, Firekit, Goldkit, and Sunkit were all complaining of aching paws, and although, they could say nothing, Oddflower knew Frostkit, Snowkit, and Icekit were tired as well. They continued on, traveling along the shore of the lake. Looking back, she could see the fire had reached the very end of ThunderClan's territory and felt another break in her heart. The camp and most of the forest was most certainly destroyed, three cats that she knew of had been lost, and who knew if the others were okay.

A yowl sounded and WindClan warriors ran up, lead by Stonestar. His eyes were narrowed in anger as his eyes swept over Oddflower coldly before moving on. When his eyes gazed over the kits, they softened slightly.

"What brings you here?"

Oddflower snorted crossly at him and spat. "Can't you see or are you blind?"

He ignored the cross she-cat's remark, knowing she had gotten much more irritable after her mentor's death, almost as if some part of Flowerear's bitter personality had rooted itself in Oddflower. Gazing off toward ThunderClan territory, he could see the telltale red haze of fire.

He nodded thoughtfully. "I assume you're taking the kits to the Horseplace. We will escort you."

"I don't need an escort," she spat, fur bristling. She had been grateful back when he helped her, but at the last Gathering, the growing tension between WindClan and ThunderClan had come to a head and she was unsure if she could trust them.

"I will take her," a new voice meowed. "After all, it is my home she is heading to."

Glancing past the WindClan warriors, Oddflower spotted her friend, Arrow, and a couple of other cats she wasn't as familiar with, but she spotted Leopard near one of them, and knew she could better trust them than the WindClan cats. Lips drawn in a snarl, Stonestar nodded his consent and led his warriors away.

"Thank you, Arrow," Oddflower meowed once they had gone.

"I saw the fire from the barn," the ginger and white she-cat meowed with a nervous flick of her tail. "I thought we could offer shelter."

Leopard padded forward to stand next to his mate. "No other ThunderClan cats have come this way, I'm afraid. You're the only ones."

Oddflower nodded. "I think they headed toward ShadowClan. However, the Gathering is in two days, and they will be passing by to get there. We'll just join up with them again, then."

Arrow nodded. "Very well."

"We're tired!" Firekit whined, making the gathered cats purr.

Arrow flicked her tail. "Crow, you take the herbs. Adder, Ash, Leopard, Feather, Snow, grab a kit."

The cats getting orders stepped forward; a dark gray tom took the herbs from the three exhausted siblings and Dawnkit, while Adder, Arrow's son, gently picked up Firekit by the scruff, making the kit sigh in relief. Ash, Arrow's adopted daughter and Crow's actual sister picked up Frostkit. Leopard took Sunkit, Feather took Icekit, and Snow took Snowkit. Arrow herself stepped forward, picking up Goldkit. Oddflower gently picked up Dawnkit, and the group of cats set off for the Horseplace, leaving the fire blazing in the distance behind them.

The two days in the Horseplace were some of the most relaxing her and the kits had experienced. Arrow had Crow and Ash catching mice for everyone, much to the kits delight, and Crow even took time to play with the kits and teach them how to stalk a mouse. Oddflower watched them with amusement, but couldn't help but worry about the Clan. It was still a half moon until the kits would be old enough to be apprenticed, but with no queens to watch them, they would just have to be apprenticed early.

On the second day, all of ThunderClan came passing through as night fell. Happy to see their father's the kits bounded forward happily, racing over to Darktail and Rainfur, who purred happily but still had sadness in their eyes. Oddflower knew they had found the bodies of Hazelflower and Frostmask. And by the grief in the deputy's eyes, she knew Blossomlight had been found as well. As she looked through the cats, she saw both the elder Sandclaw, and Flamewhisker's sister, Mintfrost were missing. Most likely having perished in the fire.

Flamewhisker pushed forward and ran up to her eyes shining. "I'm glad you're okay."

She purred. "It'll take more than a fire to bring me down."

Fogstar padded forward and yowled, causing the chatter to stop as cats turned their attention to their leader. Fogstar stood, looking defeated, but he still had the strong will of a leader.

"Cats of ThunderClan, we all known the fire has caused great loss to us, but we will continue on," he meowed. "Now that their mother's have left us, we have seven kits in need of care. I will apprentice them early, as there are no able queens left to care for them and we need all the workers we can get to rebuild when the time comes."

The kits bounded around their father's excited until Fogstar's stare stopped them cold. "Icekit, you are ready to be apprenticed. From this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Icepaw. I will be your mentor."

Icepaw's eyes were wide as she touched noses with her mentor then went to sit down. Snowpaw was apprenticed to Hawkfire, and Frostpaw was apprenticed to Darktail. He moved onto Hazelflower's litter, apprenticing Firepaw to Webfur, Goldpaw to Flamewhisker, Sunpaw to Honeyfeather, and Dawnpaw to Rainleaf. Oddflower chanted the apprentice's names along with the rest of the Clan and soon Fogstar announced cats that would go to the Gathering.

"The cats going to the Gathering are Hawkfire, Oddflower, Rainleaf, Dawnpaw, Flamewhisker, Goldpaw, Gingerblaze, and Spottedcloud. I want everyone else to remain here and we will return here before heading home to begin repairs on the camp."

The journey to the island did not take long; RiverClan was already there, as was ShadowClan. ThunderClan crossed the tree bridge and Oddflower broke away from her Clanmates to go sit with Swandrop and Redstreak, but Redstreak had a small she-cat with her.

"And who would this be?" she asked with a purr.

Redstreak's eyes were filled with pride. "This is Swiftpaw, my new apprentice. Swiftpaw, this is Oddflower, the medicine cat of ThunderClan."

Swiftpaw, a tiny black and white she-cat, dipped her head to Oddflower in respect. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Swiftpaw, I can tell you will be a great medicine cat," Oddflower assured, making the she-cat's eyes light up.

"Oddflower!"

Oddflower turned to see three familiar cats weaving through the crowd toward her. "Dovepaw? Minnowpaw and Dawnpaw?"

Dovepaw purred. "It's Dovefeather, actually," she corrected. "And Minnowpaw is Minnowtail. Dawnpaw is Dawnwhisper."

"You all got your warriors names! Congratulations!" Oddflower purred.

It had taken awhile, but she and Dovefeather had eventually become close friends, which was odd for both Clans, but they would say nothing against it, it wasn't too strange for a medicine cat to have good friends in other Clans.

A yowl sounded and the Gathering began. Looking at the tree, Oddflower was surprised when Deadwish pushed his way forward first. Where was Sootstar? Glancing at Minnowtail out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the black she-cat glaring at the brown furred tom.

"Sootstar has joined the ranks of StarClan and I now stand before you as Deadstar, leader of RiverClan," he began, causing uneasy murmurs to spread through the Clan. "RiverClan has done well this passed moon, prey continues to run, and we have two new warriors, Minnowtail and Dawnwhisper."

"Minnowtail! Dawnwhisper! Minnowtail! Dawnwhisper!" the Clans chanted.

Deadstar continued. "I have named Fallenbird my deputy."

Yowls of approval sounded, Fallenbird was a very popular she-cat amongst the Clans. Deadstar stepped back and Stonestar stepped forward.

"All is well in WindClan, prey continues to bless our Clan, giving us full bellies," he meowed. "Yellowpaw has earned his warrior name and will now be known as Yellowgaze, but his sister, Sagepaw, has yet to receive her name, do to an injury received while in battle."

The Clans chanted Yellowgaze's name and Stonestar stepped back to allow Scarstar to speak next.

"ShadowClan has one new warrior, my daughter, Dovefeather," he announced and the Clans chanted Dovefeather's name. "That is all ShadowClan has to share."

Fogstar stepped up next. "Fire has ravaged ThunderClan territory, but our Clan remains strong," he yowled, and ThunderClan warriors took up their leader's call. "We have begun rebuilding our camp, and we will be ready for any fight that comes our way. Though we lost valuable cats, Blossomlight, Frostmask, Sandclaw, Mintfrost, and Hazelflower, our Clan continues to thrive. We have seven new apprentices, Snowpaw, Icepaw, Frostpaw, Dawnpaw, Sunpaw, Goldpaw, and Firepaw. That is all ThunderClan has to share."

Dovefeather snorted. "Those four sure don't waste anytime getting to the point, do they?"

Minnowtail and Dawnwhisper murmured their agreement. Oddflower narrowed her eyes, watching Deadstar closely. There was most certainly something off about that tom, but she couldn't put her paw on it. He had always been strange, according to the older warriors; he never spoke to other cats at Gatherings, always kept to himself. Then her eyes went to Scarstar, who was openly glowering at Fogstar.

_Shadows will engulf, Rivers will dry… _her ears pricked at the sound of Rainfur's voice, and dread twisted her belly into knots.

**{x}{x}{x}**

ThunderClan returned to their camp after the Gathering and rebuilding began rebuilding dens. The only herbs not destroyed were those that grew in the clearing near the ShadowClan border, it appeared that was one of few places left untouched by the fire, including the abandoned Twoleg nest and space right near the lake shore.

Oddflower was supervising the rebuilding of the medicine cat den by a group of apprentices when a snarl drew her attention to Gingerblaze and Spottedcloud, who stood in the middle of camp, fur bristling and lips drawn back in snarls. She pushed toward her sisters through the crowd of gathering cats and made it to them just as they leapt at each other, clawing and biting, yowling their heads off.

Oddflower stared on in surprised before letting out a growl and trying to push her way between them "Knock it off! For StarClan's sake!"

Gingerblaze narrowed her eyes at Spottedcloud, who was hissing at her.

"Traitor!" Spottedcloud spat. "Code breaker!"

Gasps sounded.

Oddflower glared at the both. "What in StarClan's name are you on about, Spottedcloud?"

"Gingerblaze is pregnant with Coalwing of ShadowClan's kits!" Spottedcloud yowled, causing eyes to land on Gingerblaze's slightly bulging belly. "She's broken the warrior code!"

Oddflower spat angrily at Spottedcloud. "You have no proof!"

Gingerblaze's eyes, once filled with fire, were now filled with shame. "She's telling the truth, Oddflower."

Oddflower glanced at Gingerblaze in surprise, but still did not turn her back on her sister. "I know she is. But she should know better than to go yowling it to all of the forest."

Fogstar stood atop the Highledge, glaring down at his three daughters. "Gingerblaze, Oddflower, Spottedcloud, Hawkfire, my den now."

With an uneasy flick of her tail, Oddflower headed to the leader's den, the other's trailing behind her. It appeared that Gingerblaze's future in the Clan was now at stake.

**A/N: Thanks to tufted, fernblaze, Bluestarisawesome, Erin Hunteress, AtomicFail, ShinigamiinPeru, Echoleaf, Loudpelt, and Kitko Hime for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to MsSocialIssues for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to MsSocialIssues and Erin Hunteress for adding this story to their alerts.**

**Fun Fact: Originally, Deadwish was going to die instead of becoming leader and in his stead, Fallenbird would have become deputy then, but I instead decided upon killing Sootstar off and allowing Deadwish to become leader.**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	8. Farewell Normal Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.**

**Chapter Eight**

**Farewell Normal Life**

"Absolutely not," Oddflower growled as she sat with her two sisters' in her father's den, settled comfortably next to the deputy. "No, Fogstar. We are not exiling Gingerblaze."

"If we do not the Clan will think she is getting special treatment for being my daughter," Fogstar argued. "Hawkfire, Spottedcloud and I agree. Gingerblaze will have to leave."

Oddflower stood fur bristling. "Then you can find another medicine cat, as well," she snarled. "I am not letting her go out there alone to wander around with no home."

"We would be better off with another medicine cat anyway!" Spottedcloud spat back. "We all know about Flamewhisker, we're not blind. A medicine cat breaking her code is just as bad as a warrior breaking it."

Fogstar raised his tail, silencing his daughter. "We have no legitimate proof of Flamewhisker and Oddflower being involved, but the two of you do head out together more often than I like."

"StarClan forbid, not you all, too!" Oddflower hissed. "What part of just friends does no cat understand?"

Spottedcloud snorted. "Friends. Right."

"Hawkfire, escort Gingerblaze from ThunderClan territory," Fogstar ordered. "Oddflower, you don't have to go."

"I do, because I'm the only willing to stick up for my family," Oddflower stood and followed Gingerblaze and Hawkfire from the den, making sure to slap her other sister across the face with her tail, earning an angry hiss.

She was walking out through the thorn tunnel with Gingerblaze and Hawkfire when Flamewhisker came bounding over. His eyes were filled with concern as he looked between the two sisters.

"Where are you going?" he asked Oddflower softly, dropping into line.

"I'm leaving with Gingerblaze until Fogstar comes to his senses," she replied. "That or Spottedcloud join the Dark Forest. I'm open to either option."

Hawkfire shot her a glance. "That's not something to joke about."

"What kind of sister does that?" Oddflower shot back. "As far as I see it, she has no place in StarClan. There's something dark about her; there always has been."

Flamewhisker was silent for a moment and then looked up. "I'm going with you."

"No," Oddflower said. "You're staying here. Someone has to continue Goldpaw's warrior training."

"No, I'm not," he argued quietly. "I'm going with you into exile. Fogstar can found someone else to train Goldpaw. Technically you're not a medicine cat anymore."

Her ears twitched and she looked at him in the corner of her eyes. "Technically, I'm not. Still, I'm a medicine cat at heart, whether I'm with the Clan or not."

Flamewhisker looked unperturbed. "I'm still coming with you."

Oddflower knew there was no arguing with the tom and nodded as they reached the border with WindClan. Hawkfire turned to them with cold eyes. He watched as Oddflower walked back, head high and with as much dignity as a leader. Flamewhisker and Gingerblaze followed her, leaving him to stand there and watch them leave ThunderClan territory. Once they were out of his sight, he got to his paws and went back to camp.

Oddflower glanced back only briefly before turning and padding along the shore of the lake through WindClan territory. Her sister and Flamewhisker followed her. She didn't like that they were trespassing on WindClan territory, but she was going to take her sister and friend to the Horseplace. She could sense that something bad was happening, but she wasn't sure what it was. It was if StarClan were trying to tell her something.

The group made it to the barn with no trouble, and were just walking in when a furious yowl sounded and a cat slammed into Oddflower, bowling her over. She hissed and kicked out with her back legs, sending the large tom flying.

"Crow! It's me!" she meowed as she got up.

The tom stood and shook out his fur. "Sorry, Oddflower. We didn't know you and your friends would be coming."

"We didn't even know," Flamewhisker meowed.

"My sister was exiled from the Clan, I was furious with Fogstar's choice and decided to come with her," Oddflower explained. "Flamewhisker came because he's stubborn."

"Am not," Flamewhisker muttered.

Oddflower turned her head to look at him. "Why don't you go hunt or something?"

He grumbled as he turned and walked away. Oddflower watched him leave before shaking her head in amusement and turning back to Crow. The tom was watching the exchange with his whiskers twitching in amusement.

"You are an interesting pair," he meowed finally. "He's your mate?"

Gingerblaze nudged her sister. "He is."

"Is not!" Oddflower protested weakly, but Gingerblaze waved her tail and walked further into the barn to lie down.

Oddflower and Crow chatted for a bit before the tom announced he would go look for his foster parents, who had apparently ventured out when they had smelled some strange scents near the mountain base. She watched him leave her mind drifting to the tale she had heard of the Clans Great Journey across the mountains to reach the new territories they lived in now. That had been back when Firestar was still leader of ThunderClan.

_Well, hopefully whatever the strange scents are, they're nothing important, _Oddflower thought as she padded over to lay down with her sister. _StarClan forbid something bad happen when we're separated from our Clan._

**{x}{x}{x}**

In the two moons since they had left the Clan, Gingerblaze had given birth to four kits two pure black, one ginger like her with a black tail, and one ginger with black paws. Two of them were toms, and two were she-cats. The black tom she named Ashkit, the black furred she-cat was Nightkit. The tom with the black tail was named Redkit, and the she-cat with the black paws was named Brightkit.

Flamewhisker and Oddflower had gotten closer, and the she-cat began dreading the fact they could head back to ThunderClan. She had been replaced as medicine cat by a cat named Dreampaw, a kittypet from beyond ShadowClan territory. As far as she knew, Dreampaw was being trained by all of the other medicine cats and would soon earn her full name. In a way, it comforted Oddflower to know that if she returned, she would not return to her post, and she had accepted that, but what had bothered her was Fogstar's words nearly a moon before - back before Dreampaw had joined ThunderClan.

Sickness had crept into the camp during the moon Oddflower had left and when ThunderClan had come, only a few, still healthy warriors were able enough to make the journey, and as she understood it, some had died, including Darktail and Webfur. Leaving Spottedcloud to train Firepaw, and Frostpaw and Goldpaw with the entire Clan trying to train her along with their apprentices. Flamewhisker was slightly worried about Goldpaw and Frostpaw's progress slowing because they were being mentored by all the able warriors, who already had their own apprentices.

"You have led to the destruction of ThunderClan," Fogstar had spat after the death of some of his warriors. "Flowerear's prophecy has come true. You led to the destruction of our Clan."

His words had deeply troubled her, but that night a dream had come to her, and the prophecy had been mentioned once again. _The destruction of ThunderClan will come before the misunderstood flower will rise to join the stars._

_The destruction has happened because of me, just as Flowerear predicted, but now what will happen? _Oddflower thought as she gazed up at the stars and the bright full moon. ThunderClan had passed by only moments before heading for the Gatherings, and soon, another shadow appeared, coming from WindClan territory. Gingerblaze purred and rushed forward toward her mate, Coalwing, who had left ShadowClan a moon before to be with his mate and kits. He, Arrow, and Leopard had left again earlier that day to check out the mountain, the strange scents that had lingered ever since Oddflower had arrived had been getting stronger and stronger, and it was obvious the scents belonged to cats. Many cats.

Flamewhisker licked her ear, drawing her attention from the moon and too him. He was staring in the direction of the island, ears pricked. Oddflower flicked her ears in that direction, barely catching the sounds of battle. She sighed, figuring that the clans had once again erupting into fighting against one another, but soon a small shape of a golden she-cat appeared.

"The Clans are being attacked!" Goldpaw wailed as she ran over to them.

Oddflower's pelt bristled at the thought, what could possibly attack the Clans? "Who's attacking, Goldpaw?"

"Cats, from the mountains," Goldpaw answered. "That's all they would say to us before they attacked."

"The Tribe of Rushing Water," Oddflower murmured. "The Tribe used to be a friend of the Clans, now they are an enemy. We must help them."

Arrow had been listening. "I cannot risk getting my family involved," she meowed. "You and the others would have to fight alone."

"That's fine," Oddflower replied. "Flamewhisker and I can go. Coalwing?"

The ShadowClan tom looked at his mate, and she nodded to him. "I will go," he answered. "Gingerblaze will stay here with the kits."

"Will three cats be enough?" Goldpaw asked in concern.

"Even one warrior can turn the tide of battle," Oddflower told the young apprentice.

"But you were a medicine cat, should you really fight?" Goldpaw's eyes were wide.

Oddflower purred. "Even medicine cats know some battle moves, and once we left the Clans, Flamewhisker taught me so I could better defend myself. Now, there's no time to waste, let's go!"

The cats took off toward the island, and while they ran, Flamewhisker questioned Goldpaw about how many cats there were.

"They're maybe the size of two Clans, but their fights are so much bigger than us, and the ones who are smaller are faster than any of the Clan cats," Goldpaw explained. "And their leader, Stoneteller, had already taken two more of Fogstar's lives when I left to come and get help."

"Two more?" Oddflower echoed, worried. Fogstar had already lost two lives when she left, and lost another to the mysterious sickness, leaving him with six lives, but now he'd lost two more, leaving him with only four lives left. "What of Hawkfire?"

"He's dead," Goldpaw meowed sadly.

"The clan has no deputy to take over if Fogstar dies!" Flamewhisker meowed as they darted across the log. He immediately launched himself onto a large white furred tom with black paws who snarled and turned to face him. Goldpaw attacked a tiny black tom, and Coalwing shot off to help one of his former Clanmates who was being double teamed by two white cats.

Oddflower slinked through the group, spotting her mother trying to fight off a large ginger tom. She snarled and leapt onto his back, digging her claws in and attacking his ear with her teeth. He yowled in pain and reared up to try to throw her off, but she held on as Honeyfeather took the open opportunity to slash at his exposed belly. The tom shook her off and fled, his belly wounds bleeding heavily. The two she-cats nodded to each other and speed off to find new opponents.

Oddflower caught sight of her father fighting a large black and white tom at the top of the tree, the other leaders were scattered out in the crowd, fighting alongside their warriors. She watched as the large tom cornered Fogstar at the edge of a high branch and leapt at her father. Her father tried to dodge, but he was hit, and fell from the tree.

A grief filled wail escaped her mouth as he hit the ground with a sickening thud. She raced over, and ran into a tiny gold furred she-cat, who she knew was Dreampaw. The she-cat gently prodded his bones, finding that many were broken in various places. The two sat for a few moments, but he did not awake.

"He lost his remaining four lives from just this fall," Dreampaw meowed, looking surprised.

Oddflower looked around. "It looks like the Clans are driving back the Tribe."

She saw Flamewhisker chasing out a black and white she-cat and felt a burst of pride. As far as she could tell, none of the Clans had lost any cats, beside Hawkfire and Fogstar, who appeared to be the only deaths so far. She clawed her way up the tree.

"Drive your enemies away!" she yowled, her voice carrying over the night, and giving warriors strength to chase away the few remaining Tribe cats. "StarClan will not let us fall! We will be victorious!"

The yowl was taken up by ThunderClan and RiverClan cats as they pushed forward, slashing at the wall of Tribe cats. Soon, WindClan and ShadowClan joined them, all of them yowling and spitting at their opponents as the last Tribe cat ran back across the log, wounds bleeding. The victory yowl that sounded was nearly deafening, but Oddflower felt a burst of pride for the Clans.

"Cats of all Clans," she cried, causing them to turn toward her. "You have driven out the Tribe of Rushing Water, and given them wounds to remember us by, but something tells me this is only the beginning of a long battle, and if the Clans are to win, we must stand together, just as we did in the Battle of the Stars."

Dreampaw stepped forward. "ThunderClan's leader and deputy have both fallen," she announced, and distressed mutters fluttered through all the Clans. "I do not know who will leader next, but -"

Lightning flashed across the sky as storm clouds covered the moon and rain began to fall. Cats began to think of this as an omen, until a small opening began and the rain that fell in that spot stopped. They watched as the beam of moonlight illuminated the tree, or more precisely, the cat sitting on the tree.

Oddflower gazed up at the moon through the clouds, her eyes widening.

"Oddstar!"

Her head jerked back in the direction of the cats where Firepaw stood in the crowd, eyes shining. The tom gazed at her respectfully as he chanted again. "Oddstar!"

Oddflower couldn't believe it.

"Oddstar!" Flamewhisker joined in.

"Oddstar! Oddstar!" Honeyfeather.

"Oddstar!" Goldpaw and Frostpaw.

"Oddstar! Oddstar!" Rainleaf and Coalwing.

"Oddstar!" Spottedcloud.

"Oddstar! Oddstar! Oddstar!" All the Clans.

"StarClan's choice has been made," she meowed, whiskers quivering nervously. "ThunderClan, come, we must go home and have the wounded tended to by Dreampaw, and a deputy must be chosen. Flamewhisker."

Her mate looked up at her proudly. "Yes, Oddflower?"

"I want you to retrieve Gingerblaze and her kits on our way home," Oddflower ordered. "Scarstar, if I may, I would like to invite your former warrior, Coalwing, to join ThunderClan to be with his family."

Scarstar's eyes narrowed, but he eventually nodded in consent.

With a flick of her tail, Oddflower jumped down from the tree and the ThunderClan cats gathered around her as she began leading them home. The entire way home, she thought about who would be her deputy. She wouldn't choose, Flamewhisker, she didn't want the Clan to think she was playing favorites. Spottedcloud would have been a good choice before, but Oddflower was still slightly bitter toward her sister. Then it came to her, the cat who would be the best choice.

Once they arrived in camp, Dreampaw set about healing the worst injuries while Oddflower sat, thinking over her choice again. She had begun doubting her pick as time went on, and she was no longer sure who would be the best cat. Gazing up at the stars, she paused when one shown brighter than the rest, blinding her. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes, and the next thing she saw was a leaf being blown around in a storm. It landed on the ground only to be drowned in the rain.

The image faded and she stood, knowing her choice was now made. Leaping onto the Highledge, she gave the traditional call, but most of the cats were already gathered.

"It is nearly moonhigh and the time to appoint a new deputy is here," she meowed. "I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our ancestors may hear and approve my choice. Rainleaf will be the deputy of ThunderClan."

The tabby tom blinked in surprise but dipped his head. "I will serve ThunderClan at all costs."

"Rainleaf! Rainleaf! Rainleaf!" the Clan chanted.

"Rainleaf, you will be in charge of the camp until Dreampaw and I return," she meowed. "Send out a hunting party, the fresh-kill pile is lower than I would like it to be."

Rainleaf nodded before giving out orders for whom he wanted on the hunting party. Oddflower jumped down and walked over to Dreampaw who nudged a bundle of traveling herbs to her. Oddflower swallowed them and then followed the young cat out of the camp and off in the direction that would lead them to the Moonpool. She knew she would return as a different cat.

_Goodbye normal life, _she thought as they finally reached the Moonpool and went inside. She lapped up a few drops of water and lay down to sleep.

_Oddflower's eyes opened and she found herself surrounded on all sides by cats with stars glittering in her pelt. She sat still as a cat came forward, and with a bit of shock, she recognized the tiny kit's fluffy gray fur and sparkling eyes._

"_Graykit," she murmured quietly, grief filling her._

_Her sister purred. "With this life, I give you trust, so you can decided who you can and cannot trust when it comes to the welfare of your Clan and those closest to you."_

_Graykit's life shot a warm burst through her fur, and made her paws tingle as faces flashed through her mind of all the cats she had trusted, and all those she knew she could now trust. As Graykit stepped back, Rainfur padded forward._

"_With this life I give you loyalty to your Clan," he meowed._

_The next cat, Sandclaw gave her compassion. As her lives were given, hope from Hawkfire, love from Darktail, pride from Frostmask, humor from Blossomlight, patience from Flowerear, until only one life remained. She sat stock still as her father padded forward, a prideful gleam in his eyes._

"_With this life," he meowed. "I give you justice, humility, and wisdom. Use them well to lead your Clan to greatness."_

_Once the pain from the life had ebbed away her father backed up._

"_I hail you by your new name, Oddstar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of ThunderClan. Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity."_

"_Oddstar! Oddstar! Oddstar!" the StarClan cats cheered._

With that, Oddstar's eyes slowly opened and she sat up, shaking out her fur before turning to Dreampaw.

"Let us go home, Dreampaw," she meowed, and the apprentice nodded.

**A/N: Thanks to Kitko Hime, fernblaze, ShinigamiinPeru, AtomicFail, Guest, and Erin Hunteress for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to AtomicFail for adding this story to their favorites. **

**All right! So now it is revealed how exactly Oddflower went from medicine cat to Oddstar, but her legacy is only just beginning! There is still many exciting things she will have to deal with in her time.**

**Also, you guys, I have a new warriors fic up! You should all check it out, it's about a cat from the city coming to ThunderClan. It's called FLIGHT, so stop by to check it out! See you all next chapter!**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	9. Dark Days

**Chapter Nine**

**Dark Days**

Oddstar watched her deputy arranging the patrols for the day as she left her den and padded over to the fresh kill pile. A moon had passed since she had been named leader, and she was finally beginning to get used to her new responsibilities. She picked out a small squirrel and went to lie next to her mate, who was eating a mouse. She sat next to him, and flicked her tail at Rainleaf, beckoning the tom over.

"Gather the apprentices, I want to have an assessment," she meowed.

"Isn't it a little soon?" he asked.

"They fight as well as any warrior, and with the threat of the Tribe, we need more warriors," she meowed. "I believe they are ready, but I would feel more sure of my choice with an assessment."

The deputy nodded and padded to the apprentice's den. Once he was gone, she looked to Flamewhisker.

"Can you help with the assessment?" she asked him. He swallowed his last bite of mouse and nodded.

Oddstar quickly devoured her squirrel and stood, padding over with her mate to join her deputy and the eager apprentices.

"Firepaw, I want you to hunt near the ShadowClan border, but be careful not to cross," she instructed. "Icepaw, hunt near the WindClan border. Frostpaw, hunt further upstream near the Moonpool. Snowpaw, hunt near camp. Dawnpaw, near the Ancient Oak. Goldpaw, near the Abandoned Twoleg nest. Sunpaw, hunt near the Ancient Oak as well."

The apprentices nodded and shot off through the tunnel.

"Did I say go?" she asked her mate and he purred in amusement. "I'll follow Icepaw, Firepaw and Sunpaw. Rainleaf, follow Snowpaw and Frostpaw. Flamewhisker, follow Goldpaw and Dawnpaw."

The cats nodded and they separated after padding out of camp. Oddstar headed toward the ShadowClan, border, keeping herself hidden so she could observe Firepaw's hunting skills. She found two places where he'd buried a thrush and squirrel. Continuing forward, she saw him stalking a rabbit, and catching it like an expert. With a satisfied nod, she watched him catch two plump mice before heading off to track down Icepaw. The second apprentice already had a nice group of three mice, two voles, a plump rabbit, and a squirrel.

It was Sunpaw who really surprised her. The apprentice had caught three rabbits, two thrushes, and four mice by the time Oddstar arrived. The apprentice was gazing up in the sky, completely ignoring a nearby mouse. Confused, Oddstar looked up, surprised to see a large hawk circling. Sunpaw was far enough back to be out of sigh, but as the hawk dove for the mouse, she leapt, claw catching the bird's wings, and dragging it down. She climbed onto the bird's back and delivered a quick killing bite to its throat.

Oddstar watched as the apprentice drug the hawk over to her pile of kill. She watched as the she-cat piled the mice and birds onto the hawk's open wings, even putting a couple of rabbits there. The apprentice then picked up the last rabbit in her mouth, grabbed the hawk's wing, and began dragging her catch back to camp.

Oddstar hurried back to find Rainleaf and Flamewhisker waiting. The two were quick to praise the apprentices' they watched. Oddstar meowed that Icepaw and Firepaw did well as well, but Sunpaw had blown her away with catching a hawk. Rainleaf's ears twitched in surprise, but he too looked pleased.

"Give them the good news, I want to go check on Gingerblaze and Honeyfeather," Oddstar meowed to her deputy before getting to her paws and heading into camp toward the nursery.

Honeyfeather looked up as she entered. "Oddstar?"

"I just came to see how you're all doing," Oddstar meowed, wincing in pain when Ashkit's teeth bit into her tail. "Hey now, Ashkit, watch the teeth!"

"Sorry!" Ashkit squeaked before tumbling away.

Gingerblaze shook her head. "Why don't you all go play in the clearing?"

Her kits mewed happily before hurrying out.

Oddstar shook her head in amusement. "I'm about to give the apprentices their warrior names," she meowed. "If you two can make it that would be great."

Honeyfeather nodded and Gingerblaze stood.

"As if we would miss it," Gingerblaze snorted.

Oddstar purred and rose to her paws, heading out and leaping onto the Highledge. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a Clan meeting!"

Cats slipped from their dens and gathered below her in the clearing. She watched as Gingerblaze herded the kits into the nursery as the apprentices stepped forward. Each one of them were quivering with excitement.

"I, Oddstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn," Oddstar meowed. "Firepaw, Dawnpaw, Sunpaw, Goldpaw, Icepaw, Frostpaw, and Snowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," they meowed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Snowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snowfeather. StarClan honors your bravery and compassion and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan. Dawnpaw, from this moment on you will be Dawnfrost. StarClan honors your wisdom and your energy, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

She leapt down from the Highledge, placing her chin on top of their heads so they could respectfully lick her shoulder. Once they had, she moved on. She noticed the excited gleam in their eyes and knew they would all make fine warriors.

"Icepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Icestorm. StarClan honors your strength and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan. Frostpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Frostpool. StarClan honor your loyalty and patience, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Frostpool gave an excited bounce and meowed her name, earning chuckles from the gathered cats as Oddstar's whiskers twitched in amusement.

"Goldpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Goldheart. StarClan honors your speed and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan. Firepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Firefur. StarClan honors your determination and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan. Sunpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Suncloud. StarClan honors your independence and your initiative, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

"Snowfeather! Dawnfrost! Icestorm! Frostpool! Goldheart! Firefur! Suncloud! Snowfeather! Dawnfrost! Icestorm! Frostpool! Goldheart! Firefur! Suncloud!" the Clan cheered.

"As per tradition, the new warriors will sit silent vigil tonight alone," Oddstar meowed. "But for now, the Clan will feast on the prey they caught on assessment."

The Clan broke apart, heading toward the fresh-kill pile or to lay down outside of the dens. Oddstar watched her Clan happily, and looked over at her mate when he padded over with one of Suncloud's large rabbits to share. The two settled down where they sat and began eating.

"It was good that you made them warriors," he meowed as they ate. "If you hadn't the only warriors would be Rainleaf, Coalwing, Spottedcloud and I."

Oddstar nodded, chewing thoughtfully. "They will still have to do apprentice duties, I'm afraid. It'll be five and a half moons until Gingerblaze's kits are ready to be apprenticed, and Honeyfeather's won't be apprenticed long after that."

Flamewhisker nodded. "Speaking of kits…"

Oddstar purred. "Flamewhisker, we have to worry about the Tribe first, it's no time for a leader to have kits when a battle is looming in the near future."

He sighed. "Yes, you're right."

"Someday, but not until we've taken care of the Tribe," she promised, licking his cheek.

He purred and the two finished their rabbits before beginning to groom each other. Oddstar didn't know such peace was possible when the Tribe could attack the Clans again at any moment. She couldn't even think about the possibility she would lose Clanmates.

"Dreamcloud!" she called when she saw the newly named medicine cat padding toward her den.

Dreamcloud twitched her ears and walked over. "Yes, Oddstar?"

"How are we on herbs?" she asked quietly.

"I will be gathering more tomorrow, but I believe we have enough for now," Dreamcloud assured.

"Take a warrior with you, I wouldn't put it past the Tribe to try and attack a cat that's by themselves," Oddstar ordered and Dreamcloud nodded before retreating to her den.

"A little paranoid, aren't you?" Flamewhisker asked in concern.

"Maybe just a little, but I don't like that it's been so quiet the past moon," she meowed. "The Tribe hasn't tried anything yet, but there scent still lingers on the outer edges of all the territories. And it's always fresh. They're watching us, but not making a move."

"Perhaps their gathering knowledge of their enemies?"

"Perhaps," she agreed. "We'll just -"

"HELP!"

Oddstar was on her feet in an instant, running toward the battered warrior that had crashed into camp.

"Dovefeather?" she hurried over to her friend, sniffing the wounds anxiously. "What's happened?"

"RiverClan and the Tribe!" Dovefeather wailed. "They've joined together and attacked ShadowClan!"

"Dreamcloud! See to Dovefeather!" Oddstar ordered as the medicine cat padded out with herbs in her mouth.

"She's in good paws," Dreamcloud assured, nudging the injured cat toward her den.

"Rainleaf, take Coalwing, Snowfeather, Dawnfrost, and Frostpool in the first wave of attacks," she continued and her deputy nodded. "I will lead the second wave with Icestorm, Spottedcloud, Firefur, Suncloud, and Flamewhisker. Goldheart, stay and watch the camp."

The cats nodded and broke apart.

Oddstar watched as Rainleaf and his group charged from camp as she gathered her own battle patrol. She knew things had been far too quiet lately, and now one of the Clans had joined with the Tribe.

Things had just gone from bad to worse.

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Oddstar - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with different colored eyes that are always changing color

**Deputy: **Rainleaf - dark tabby tom

**Medicine Cat: **Dreamcloud - golden furred she-cat with white paws and a white belly

**Warriors:**

Flamewhisker - tan furred tom (Son of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, brother of Mintfrost)

Coalwing - black furred tom

Spottedcloud - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Icestorm - white furred tom with green eyes

Snowfeather - white furred she-cat with blue eyes

Frostpool - white furred she-cat with green eyes

Dawnfrost - dark brown she-at with white splotches all over and one black spot over her right eye

Firefur - dark red furred tom with amber eyes

Goldheart - golden colored she-cat with green eyes

Suncloud - dark ginger she-cat with a gold tipped tail and golden paws with green eyes

**Apprentices:**

No Apprentices At This Time

**Queens: **

Gingerblaze - ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes (Mother to Ashkit, Nightkit, Redkit, and Brightkit.)

Honeyfeather - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Gingerblaze, Spottedcloud, and Oddstar)

**Elders: **

No Elders at This Time

_SHADOWCLAN_

_Leader: _Scarstar - bulky gray tom covered with scars

_Deputy: _Swiftfire - ginger and white she-cat

_Medicine Cat: _Redstreak - red furred she-cat _Apprentice, Swiftbreeze_

_Warriors:_

Amberheart - light brown tom with amber eyes

Lizardstripe - light brown tom with darker stripes _Apprentice, Stonepaw_

Rockheart - brown tom with blue eyes and a white chest

Dovefeather - gray she-cat (Daughter of Scarstar)

Nightsong - black and white she-cat (Mate of Rockheart, mother of Swiftbreeze and Stoneheart)

Stoneheart - gray furred tom (Soon of Nightsong and Rockheart)

_Apprentices:_

Swiftbreeze- black and white she-cat (Daughter of Nightsong and Rockheart)

_Queens:_

_No Queens at This Time_

_Elders: _Treeclaw - brown tom with black stripes

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Stonestar - white tom with gray paws

**Deputy: **Rosefall - brown and white she-cat

**Medicine Cat: **Rainbreeze - brown and gray tom

**Warriors:**

Adderfang - dark brown tom _Apprentice, Sagepaw_

Goldenleaf - gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes

Lynxwhisker - brown tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt - dusky brown she-cat _Apprentice, Yellowpaw_

Hollyspots - black tom with white spots

Jadefur - brown she-cat with green eyes (Mate of Hollyspots. Mother of Yellowpaw and Sagepaw)

**Apprentices:**

Yellowpaw - brown tom with yellow eyes

Sagepaw - black and white she-cat with a brown tail and green eyes

**NO APPRENTICES**

**Queens:**

Creekstone - gray she-cat (Expecting Stonestar's kits)

**Elders:**

**NO ELDERS**

_RIVERCLAN_

_Leader: _Deadstar - strange brown tom with dull blue eyes

_Deputy: _Fallenbird - gray she-cat with brown ears

_Medicine Cat: _Swandrop - white she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead

_Warriors:_

Littledapple - tiny dappled she-cat _Apprentice, Starpaw_

Pinetalon - long furred black tom

Cherrytooth - red and white tom

Blazedust - grayish brown she-cat (Mate of Deadwish. Mother of Starpaw)

Minnowtail - black she-cat (Daughter of Sootstar)

Dawnwhisper - light brown she-cat

_Apprentices:_

Starpaw - strange and mysterious pure black she-cat with an odd star shaped white spot on her nose (Daughter of Blazedust and Deadwish)

_Queens: _

NO QUEENS

_Elders:_

Darkfeather - black tom (Father of Pinetalon)

**The Tribe Of Rushing Water**

Stoneteller - large black and white tom

Wolf That Cries to Moon (Wolf) - tiny pale gray she-cat

Feather of Flying Eagle (Feather) - ginger and white she-cat

Claw of Roaring Tiger (Claw) - bulky brown and white tom

Hiss of Angry Adder (Hiss) - large ginger tom

Song of Chirping Crickets (Song) - tiny white she-cat

Flower That Grows on Cliff (Flower) - brown she-cat

Flame That Burn Trees (Flame) - large ginger tom with white stripes

Frost on Top of Mountain (Frost) - burly white furred tom

Shadow of Stalking Eagle (Shadow) - black and white she-cat

Dawn of Rising Sun (Dawn) - golden brown she-cat

Rose That Grows in Meadow (Rose) -tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Tooth Sharpened On Bone (Tooth) - cruel white furred tom with black paws

Swift River That Flows To Creek (Swift) - brown tabby tom

Snow That Falls On Cliff (Snow) - white she-cat with green eyes

Poppy That Grows In Forest (Poppy) - pale ginger and white she-cat

Snake That Slithers Through Cave (Snake) - dusky brown tom

Fish That Swims In River (Fish) - silvery gray tom

Beetle That Scurries Across Cave (Beetle) - tiny black tom

**A/N: Thanks to ShinigamiinPeru, Gingersplash of ThunderClan, spottykit, Erin Hunteress, puzzlefreak14, and blueoaktree775 for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to crystallineirises, Ridinggrl27, and blueoaktree775 for adding this story to their alerts. Thanks to ShiverInTheLight, carsule401, Ridingrrl27, and blueoaktree775 for adding this story to their favorites.**

**fun Fact: Originally, Dovefeather was going to be killed and another cat was going to come warn ThunderClan of RiverClan's betrayal.**

**Please Review!**

**Also, check out my new warriors fic, FLIGHT.**

**~Izzy**


	10. Death

**Chapter Ten**

**Death**

Oddstar blinked her eyes, one a deep green and the other a fiery amber, as she waited with her Clan in the shadows of ShadowClan territory. Behind her, she could hear paws shifting anxiously and excitedly as cats waited for her battle call. Rainleaf had just lead the first wave into the ShadowClan camp and the screeches of fighting reached her ears as ThunderClan and ShadowClan fought side by side against Tribe and RiverClan, she could only remember stories, very few stories, where ThunderClan and ShadowClan had been allies.

"ThunderClan attack!" she yowled, leaping into the clearing and right onto an enemies back.

She heard yowls as her wave of cats charged into the clearing, fighting enemies and going to help friends. She dug her claws into the back of a good friend of hers from RiverClan, Minnowtail, and delivered a fierce bite to the neck. Minnowtail hissed and shook herself violently, trying to throw the smaller she-cat off. Oddstar hit the ground on her paws and darted under the she-cat, flipping onto her back and kicking Minnowtail in the stomach with powerful hind legs to send her flying.

Minnowtail's eyes widened as the breathe was knocked out of her and she was sent flying into Blazedust. The two toppled over in a tangle of gray-brown and black fur. With a snort, Oddstar turned and launched herself at another cat, the large black and white tom who led the Tribe. The one referred to as Stoneteller. The tom growled and bowled her over with one swipe of his large paw. Oddstar stumbled back with a hiss of pain as she fell. She shook her head and looked around, RiverClan and the Tribe were obviously winning, but she could see some of their cats being chased away. Soon the tide of battle would turn.

"Deadstar's lost a life!" a terrified yowl cut through the air.

"Scarstar? Scarstar is dead!" came the voice of Redstreak the medicine cat. "Swiftfire, too!"

Oddstar's eyes widened. This was like what had happened with ThunderClan, when the leader and deputy had both been lost. The battle cats all froze and slowly the Tribe and RiverClan backed away, teeth bared as a bird's song cut through the air. Above the remaining cats of ThunderClan and ShadowClan, a flock of doves flew; their feathers falling from their bodies and decorating the clearing.

At that moment, a distressed Dovefeather crashed into ShadowClan's camp.

"What happened?" she demanded. "Where's the Tribe and RiverClan?"

"They have gone," Redstreak meowed. "And StarClan have made their choice."

Dovefeather looked confused. "Did I miss something?"

Oddstar purred. "ThunderClan will take our leave now, but congratulations, Dovefeather, StarClan couldn't have chosen a better cat to lead ShadowClan in these dark times."

"Lead? What?" she asked as Oddstar led her warriors past her. "Oddstar, get back here! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU MEAN I'M GOING TO LEAD!?"

Oddstar purred to herself as she increased her pace so that the ThunderClan cats were racing through the ShadowClan forest back to their own territory. Once her paws crossed the border, she felt at peace now that she was home. As ThunderClan entered the camp, she could hear Rainleaf giving orders but her attention focused on Dreamcloud carrying herbs toward the nursery and with a purr of delight, Oddstar hurried over to the nursery and in.

Nestled at her mothers belly were four kits. Two gray and white toms, a cream colored she-cat, and a little red and white tom. Oddstar walked over to sit next to her mother.

"Have you named them?" she asked.

Honeyfeather nodded. "The gray toms are Cloudkit and Patchkit, the ginger and white tom is Robinkit, and the cream colored she-cat is Sandkit."

"Those are wonderful names, Honeyfeather," Oddstar praised. "And they all look perfectly healthy."

Later that night, curled up in her nest, Oddstar dreamed for the first time in a long time.

_Oddstar looked around the StarClan hunting grounds, a sliver of surprise flashing through her body as a tan furred she-cat padded toward her. The she-cat looked at her with familiar eyes._

"_You're Flamewhisker's mother," Oddstar breathed. "Lilyheart."_

_Lilyheart nodded. "I bring a new prophecy, Oddstar, one that will not happen for many seasons, but you must know about it now."_

"_As if I don't have enough prophecies to worry about," Oddstar muttered crossly, remembering that part of the prophecy she'd received before still weren't finished._

Shadows will engulf, Rivers will dry, and only the silent storm will save the thunder from the spreading frost, _Oddstar recited in her mind, trying to piece together the prophecy she received back when she was a medicine cat apprentice._

"_Listen!" Lilyheart hissed. "This is important, and you must not tell Flamewhisker about it." _

_Oddstar shifted uncomfortably. "Alright…"_

"Tiger's will roar and crows will caw, ThunderClan will fall at Mintfrost's claws. Wind will flow, and Rivers will run, but only Shadows will produce the one," _Lilyheart meowed, voice low and foreboding._

"_Mintfrost?" Oddstar asked in surprise. "What does that mean? Is she not here in StarClan?"_

"_Mintfrost does not walk in StarClan's path, she walks in the path of evil," Lilyheart murmured sadly. "Mintfrost walks with those of the Dark Forest."_

Oddstar jerked awake, shaking her head to rid her mind of her dream. Next to her, Flamewhisker slept peacefully, his flank rising and falling with sleep. Her ears flattened as she remembered Lilyheart's prophecy. His sister was a Dark Forest cat, and would apparently attack ThunderClan someday. She hoped it would be a day when Flamewhisker and she weren't alive to see it.

**{x}{x}{x}**

The full moon shined over head as Oddstar led her Clan onto the island. ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan were already gathered together in the clearing, and she could sense the tension as WindClan and ShadowClan bunched together on one side, glaring at the RiverClan cats with fur bristling. The RiverClan cats shifted on their paws anxiously as ThunderClan joined WindClan and ShadowClan as Oddstar padded forward to leap onto the tree.

Dovestar looked pleased to see her friend. "Oddstar, good to see you again."

Oddstar purred. "You as well, Dovestar."

Deadstar glowered at the she-cats and Stonestar snorted in annoyance, his muzzle now covered in grey. Oddstar could remember when she was an apprentice he'd looked young and strong, but now Stonestar appeared old and frail, and it was obvious soon Rosefall would take over as WindClan's leader.

Oddstar yowled to begin the gathering and stepped forward to speak.

"I will speak first," Deadstar growled, shoving his way forward and nearly knocking Oddstar off the branch.

Hisses exploded from ThunderClan warriors and Rainleaf stood, lips drawn back in a snarl as he looked ready to leap up where the leaders stood and rip Deadstar to shreds.

"RiverClan has merged with the Tribe," he announced. "I have come to realize that this territory is no longer suitable for four Clans and once the three remaining Clans are wiped out, the Tribe and RiverClan will rule all the territories together!"

"NO!" a lither RiverClan she-cat stood. "This is wrong, father, there have always been four Clans!"

"Starpaw, hold your tongue!" Deadstar hissed.

"No, let her speak," Oddstar interrupted. "She appears to be the only RiverClan cat with a brain."

Deadstar hissed, claws unsheathing.

Starpaw looked furious. "All you've done is sentence RiverClan to death! The Tribe won't share the territory, and you're fish-brained if you believe they will!"

"My cats will not speak to me this way, I am leader and my word is law!" Deadstar yowled. "Starpaw, from this moment, you are no longer a RiverClan cat. If you are seen on our territory, you will be killed."

Starpaw glared at him. "I'd rather be dead than follow you."

Dovestar stood next. "You are a brave young she-cat, Starpaw. You have a place in ShadowClan, if you want to accept it."

Starpaw dipped her head. "Thank you, Dovestar. I believe I will."

RiverClan cats hissed at her as she walked away from them and over to join her new Clanmates, who murmured soothing words to the upset she-cat. Starpaw carried herself confidently on her paws, refusing to give in to the angry glares and rude comments as she took a seat next to Swiftbreeze, the medicine cat apprentice.

"Well, if the ego contest is finished now," Oddstar meowed. "All has been well in -"

"Ego contest?" Deadstar spat, fur bristling.

Oddstar glared at him, her own fur bristling. "I'm surprised there's enough room in your Clan for cats besides you, Deadstar!"

"Oh, now who has a big ego?" he countered. "You're nothing; you're not special just because you're a medicine cat turned leader."

Oddstar spat at him and the tom leapt, sending both of them rolling off the tree branch. The two leaders snarled and exchanged swipes even as they fell toward the ground. Deadstar was on top of her, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't get the upper hand and she hit the ground with a sickening crack, the world going black.

A shocked cry echoed in the clearing as Flamewhisker leapt, snarling and shoving Deadstar off his mate as Dovestar leapt down and hurried over to Oddstar, eyes filled with concern. Dreamcloud pushed her way forward and hurried over to her leader.

"She's losing a life," Dreamcloud murmured. "All we can do is wait."

_Oddstar opened her eyes with a groan and sat up. In front of her sat Graykit, her fur sparkling with stars. Graykit's eyes held sadness._

"_You've lost a life, Oddstar," the kit meowed. _

_Next to Graykit, although just a shadowy outline, was a copy of Oddstar. Oddstar's eyes widened a little and then she shook her head, growling. Deadstar had cost a life she would need for fighting the Tribe and RiverClan in the next big battle. _

_She sat with Graykit for what felt like ages before the kit spoke again._

"_You must be more careful," the kit said wisely. "Pick your battles carefully, Oddstar."_

_Oddstar nodded and that's when StarClan's hunting grounds faded away._

"She's awake," Flamewhisker meowed in relief, the scratches on his face and shoulder stinging with a fury. Of course, Deadstar's wounds looked worse than his did; the tom had furiously attacked the leader after his mate had been injured.

Oddstar carefully stood up, shaking dirt from her fur. She glared at Deadstar, who watched her with hackles raised. With a snort, she turned away and flicked her tail, walking away from the tom. Her Clan exchanged worried looks and followed her.

"We're leaving," she meowed.

"ShadowClan is as well," Dovestar murmured, watching Deadstar warily.

"WindClan, too," Stonestar rasped.

Deadstar stared after the Clans as they departed, letting out a hiss. He had a bone to pick with Oddstar, and he wouldn't rest until he'd taken all of her lives.

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Oddstar - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with different colored eyes that are always changing color

**Deputy: **Rainleaf - dark tabby tom

**Medicine Cat: **Dreamcloud - golden furred she-cat with white paws and a white belly

**Warriors:**

Flamewhisker - tan furred tom (Son of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, brother of Mintfrost)

Coalwing - black furred tom

Spottedcloud - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Icestorm - white furred tom with green eyes

Snowfeather - white furred she-cat with blue eyes

Frostpool - white furred she-cat with green eyes

Dawnfrost - dark brown she-at with white splotches all over and one black spot over her right eye

Firefur - dark red furred tom with amber eyes

Goldheart - golden colored she-cat with green eyes

Suncloud - dark ginger she-cat with a gold tipped tail and golden paws with green eyes

**Apprentices:**

No Apprentices At This Time

**Queens: **

Gingerblaze - ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes (Mother to Ashkit, Nightkit, Redkit, and Brightkit.)

Honeyfeather - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Gingerblaze, Spottedcloud, and Oddstar; mother of Robinkit, Cloudkit, Patchkit, and Sandkit)

**Elders: **

No Elders at This Time

_SHADOWCLAN_

_Leader: _Dovestar - gray she-cat (Daughter of Scarstar)

_Deputy: _Lizardstripe - light brown tom with darker stripes _Apprentice, Stonepaw_

_Medicine Cat: _Redstreak - red furred she-cat _Apprentice, Swiftbreeze_

_Warriors:_

Amberheart - light brown tom with amber eyes

Rockheart - brown tom with blue eyes and a white chest

Nightsong - black and white she-cat (Mate of Rockheart, mother of Swiftbreeze and Stoneheart)

Stoneheart - gray furred tom (Soon of Nightsong and Rockheart) _Apprentice, Starpaw_

_Apprentices:_

Starpaw - strange and mysterious pure black she-cat with an odd star shaped white spot on her nose (Daughter of Blazedust and Deadstar)

Swiftbreeze- black and white she-cat (Daughter of Nightsong and Rockheart)

_Queens:_

_No Queens at This Time_

_Elders: _Treeclaw - brown tom with black stripes

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Stonestar - white tom with gray paws

**Deputy: **Rosefall - brown and white she-cat

**Medicine Cat: **Rainbreeze - brown and gray tom

**Warriors:**

Adderfang - dark brown tom _Apprentice, Sagepaw_

Goldenleaf - gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes

Lynxwhisker - brown tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt - dusky brown she-cat _Apprentice, Yellowpaw_

Hollyspots - black tom with white spots

Jadefur - brown she-cat with green eyes (Mate of Hollyspots. Mother of Yellowpaw and Sagepaw)

**Apprentices:**

Yellowpaw - brown tom with yellow eyes

Sagepaw - black and white she-cat with a brown tail and green eyes

**NO APPRENTICES**

**Queens:**

Creekstone - gray she-cat (Expecting Stonestar's kits)

**Elders:**

**NO ELDERS**

_RIVERCLAN_

_Leader: _Deadstar - strange brown tom with dull blue eyes

_Deputy: _Fallenbird - gray she-cat with brown ears

_Medicine Cat: _Swandrop - white she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead

_Warriors:_

Littledapple - tiny dappled she-cat

Pinetalon - long furred black tom

Cherrytooth - red and white tom

Blazedust - grayish brown she-cat (Mate of Deadstar. Mother of Starpaw)

Minnowtail - black she-cat (Daughter of Sootstar)

Dawnwhisper - light brown she-cat

_Apprentices:_

No Apprentices At This Time

_Queens: _

NO QUEENS

_Elders:_

Darkfeather - black tom (Father of Pinetalon)

**The Tribe Of Rushing Water**

Stoneteller - large black and white tom

Wolf That Cries to Moon (Wolf) - tiny pale gray she-cat

Feather of Flying Eagle (Feather) - ginger and white she-cat

Claw of Roaring Tiger (Claw) - bulky brown and white tom

Hiss of Angry Adder (Hiss) - large ginger tom

Song of Chirping Crickets (Song) - tiny white she-cat

Flower That Grows on Cliff (Flower) - brown she-cat

Flame That Burn Trees (Flame) - large ginger tom with white stripes

Frost on Top of Mountain (Frost) - burly white furred tom

Shadow of Stalking Eagle (Shadow) - black and white she-cat

Dawn of Rising Sun (Dawn) - golden brown she-cat

Rose That Grows in Meadow (Rose) -tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Tooth Sharpened On Bone (Tooth) - cruel white furred tom with black paws

Swift River That Flows To Creek (Swift) - brown tabby tom

Snow That Falls On Cliff (Snow) - white she-cat with green eyes

Poppy That Grows In Forest (Poppy) - pale ginger and white she-cat

Snake That Slithers Through Cave (Snake) - dusky brown tom

Fish That Swims In River (Fish) - silvery gray tom

Beetle That Scurries Across Cave (Beetle) - tiny black tom

**A/N: Thanks to ShiningamiinPeru, Ridinggrl27, Erin Hunteress, poolnighy, Kitko Hime, AtomicFail, puzzlefreak14, and Gingersplash of time for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Fun Fact: Originally, it was going to be Deadstar who lost a life, but I switched it to Oddstar.**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	11. New Life

**Chapter Eleven**

**New Life**

Oddstar padded along the WindClan border with her patrol, Dawnfrost, Frostpool, Coalwing, and Firefur. The cats were alert, fur bristling slightly at the scent of Tribe on the breeze. The cats weren't surprised to see a WindClan patrol, headed by Rosefall at the border. Oddstar raised her tail in greeting as they approached. The patrol seemed comfortable with WindClan on the border. The Tribe had driven the three remaining Clans closer together, and all cats were friends with one another.

"Rosefall," Oddstar purred, sitting down with her sides budging out. "Nice to see you. What brings you to the border?"

"I came to bring news that I have received my nine lives as leader and am now called Rosestar," the she-cat replied. "I have made Goldenleaf my deputy."

Goldenleaf sat next to the leader and dipped her head. "Oddstar," she murmured politely.

Oddstar purred. "Congratulations, Goldenleaf."

Jadefur, he mother of the apprentice that Oddpaw had saved once at a gathering eyed Oddstar. "You are expecting kits?"

Oddstar's tail curled with delight. "I am. According to Dreamcloud, they will be born in about a half moon."

"Well, that is good news for ThunderClan," Rosestar meowed. "More kits means ThunderClan will grow stronger."

"Yelloweyes and Sagepool say hello, Oddstar," Jadefur added.

"Those are wonderful names for them," the leader replied.

Firefur flicked his tail, lifting his head to scent the air. "Badger!"

Oddstar stood, fur bristling uncomfortably as she scented the air. Rosestar did the same, looking apprehensive. The heavy, acrid stench of badger filled the air, which had once been clear. It appeared the creature had only just entered the area, and was clearly charging toward the group of cats.

The cats scattered, hissing and slashing out at the creature. Oddstar snarled and flicked her tail, her warriors surrounding the furious badger. Rosestar and her cats quickly rushed over to help. Firefur reacted first, leaping onto the badger's back and digging his claws in as Jadefur rushed forward, swiping at the badger's eyes. Oddstar leapt next, scoring her claws down its side as Frostpool and Coalwing attacked from the other side. Rosestar raced forward next, delivering a fierce bit to the badger's shoulder. The creature gave a roar and flipped, crushing Firefur under it. The tom yowled in pain and, with one back paw bent awkwardly, limped away into the forest.

Oddstar stared after him in concern, and was struck by the badger's large paw that sent her flying. She hit the ground with a thud but quickly stood again to see the badger being chased away. Coalwing hurried over and sniffed at her.

"I think you're okay," he meowed. "The kits should be fine, as well."

Oddstar nodded, and stared off in the direction the badger had lumbered off. "It headed back toward the direction of ShadowClan. Frostpool, Dawnfrost, head off to ShadowClan and warn Dovestar. I need to go and see how Firefur is doing."

When she arrived back at camp, Firefur was limping dejectedly toward the elder's den, Dreamcloud staring after him sadly. Oddstar walked over and put a comforting tail around her shoulder.

"You did what you could," Oddstar meowed softly.

"I couldn't fix it," she mumbled miserably. "He's only been a warrior for a couple of moons and now he has to retire as an elder."

"It is the path StarClan has laid for him," Oddstar reassured him.

She left the medicine cat to her work and turned to pad over to the fresh kill pile, picking up a mouse from the pile before going to sit outside her den and eat. She was joined by her mate a few minutes later and Frostpool and Dawnfrost were just returning to ShadowClan.

She watched the hunting part leave and sighed, settling down to groom herself. Things were tense, the smell of Tribe still hung heavily in the air around the territories, but they had yet to attack. It made Oddstar nervous, wondering if they were waiting for a tie when the Clans would be weak.

**{x}{x}{x}**

A pain filled yowl split through the air, bringing Dreamcloud, ThunderClan's medicine cat padding out of her den with herbs in her mouth. She quickly went over to the leader's den and slipped inside. Inside, Flamewhisker sat next to his mate, tail flickering back and forth nervous as a spasm racked Oddstar's body.

"Out," Dreamcloud ordered.

Flamewhisker opened his mouth to protest but froze when a yowl sounded in the camp.

"The Tribe," he whispered as the stench of the mountain cats invaded the camp.

Oddstar groaned. "Go fight, Flamewhisker. The Clan will need you."

Flamewhisker hesitated once before bounding out of the den with a fierce battle yowl. Dreamcloud's ears twitched as the sounds of battle cut through the air. She placed a paw on Oddstar's stomach as a spasm ripped through the queen's body again.

"The first kit's coming," Dreamcloud meowed. "Push."

Oddstar gave another pained yowl as a slick body slipped out and onto the den floor. Dreamcloud quickly nipped the sack open and began licking the kit's ginger and black fur. The little she-cat also had white paws. Once the kit was dry, Dreamcloud nudged towards Oddstar's belly just as the second kit came. That one was another she-cat, with pale gray fur like Oddstar's father, Fogstar. The final kit was a tan furred tom with ginger patches.

"Two she-cats and a tom," Dreamcloud announced and Oddstar purred tiredly. Lifting her head to look at her kits.

Flamewhisker hurried in. "We're outnumbered," he panted, before catching sight of the kits. "Are they okay?"

Oddstar nodded. "Say hello to your daughters and your son."

Flamewhisker slowly padded forward, blood flowing from a wound on his shoulder. "Should we name them?"

"How about Mistkit for the gray she-cat?" Oddstar suggested and he nodded.

"Burnkit for the tom," he purred.

"And Applekit for the black and ginger one with the white paws," Oddstar finished, staring down at their kits.

"Oddstar!"

Oddstar stood fur bristling as Rainleaf rain in. The tom had blood flowing from various wounds on his body, but his eyes shined with victory.

"We managed to drive them away," he announced. "Everyone's injured though, and…Gingerblaze is dead."

Oddstar felt shock course through her. "What of the kits? Honeyfeather?"

"Honeyfeather is injured, but not badly," Rainleaf meowed. "And all the kits are safe."

Oddstar nodded. "Thank you, Rainleaf. Dreamcloud, go see to the injured."

"Oh, and Dovestar just arrived," he meowed. "She wanted to see you."

Oddstar nodded. "Send her in. Flamewhisker, go help set up Gingerblaze's body for the vigil."

Her mate nodded and nuzzled her gently before heading out of the cave after Rainleaf. Oddstar settled down again, gently nuzzling her kits. At least they weren't going to know the trials of battle for six moons. She felt oddly protective of them, and if she could, she'd keep them from battle, even then, but it was something she'd have little choice in.

Dovestar appeared in the entrance. "Oddstar?"

"Come in," Oddstar purred.

Dovestar hesitantly walked into the leader's den and purred when she saw the kits. "Oh you had kits, how wonderful! What are their names?"

Oddstar pointed to the first kit. "Mistkit, Burnkit, and Applekit."

"Those are great names," Dovestar murmured. "Your kits will be great someday, I can feel it."

Oddstar looked up in surprised, but purred. "What brings you here?"

"We were attacked by some Tribe cats earlier," she growled. "I wanted to see if ThunderClan suffered the same fate and it looks like I was right. I'm sure WindClan was attacked as well."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Oddstar murmured. "The Gathering is in a quarter moon. We will all come up with a plan then. If I know Deadstar, RiverClan won't be attending."

"They could ambush us there," Dovestar added.

"I don't think they will, but we can never be sure," Oddstar meowed, ears pricking when Applekit gaze a sudden mew, making Oddstar look down to find a shocking sight greeting her. "Dovestar, fetch Dreamcloud."

"What happened?" Dovestar asked curiously, craning her head to look. "Her eyes are open! But she was only just born!"

"I know," Oddstar murmured worriedly. "Please fetch Dreamcloud."

The ShadowClan leader dipped her head in acknowledgement and backed out of the leader's den. Applekit really was like Oddstar, the leader realized, with her left eye being green and the right a beautiful shade of blue.

The medicine cat found nothing to be wrong with Applekit or Applekit's vision, but she was also surprised by the fact that the kit had opened its eyes after birth. Such events were rare, but not completely unheard of.

The day after the battle, Oddstar called the Clan together for a meeting.

"By naming apprentices, we show our Clan continues to grow strong," Oddstar murmured to her Clan. "Although they are only five and a half moons old, I believe it is time Gingerblaze's kits were apprenticed. Ashkit, Nightkit, Redkit, and Brightkit, come forward."

The kits happily stepped up so they were below the Highledge.

"From this day forward, these apprentices will be known as Ashpaw, Nightpaw, Redpaw, and Brightpaw. Flamewhisker, you will be mentor to Ashpaw. You have shown yourself to be a warrior of loyalty and skill, and I hope you pass these skills down to Ashpaw."

Her mate stepped forward, eyes shining and touched noses with his new apprentice before leading him back into the crowd.

"Spottedcloud, you are ready for your first apprentice, you will be mentor to Redpaw," Oddstar continued. "You have shown yourself to be a warrior of patience and kindness, and I hope you pass these skills down to Redpaw. Snowfeather, you will be mentor to Nightpaw. You are a young warrior, but you have boundless energy and great courage. I hope you pass these skills down to Nightpaw."

The white she-cat made her way forward to touch noses with her new apprentice.

"And finally, Brightpaw," Oddstar began. "Dawnfrost, it is time for your first apprentice. You will be mentor to Brightpaw. You are a warrior of bravery and intelligence, and I hope you pass these skills on to Brightpaw."

"Ashpaw! Nightpaw! Redpaw! Brightpaw! Ashpaw! Nightpaw! Redpaw! Brightpaw!" the Clan cheered.

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Oddstar - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with different colored eyes that are always changing color (Also a Queen. Mate of Flamewhisker; Mother of Applekit, Burnkit, and Mistkit)

**Deputy: **Rainleaf - dark tabby tom

**Medicine Cat: **Dreamcloud - golden furred she-cat with white paws and a white belly

**Warriors:**

Flamewhisker - tan furred tom (Son of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, brother of Mintfrost) _Apprentice, Ashpaw_

Coalwing - black furred tom

Spottedcloud - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes _Apprentice, Redpaw_

Icestorm - white furred tom with green eyes

Snowfeather - white furred she-cat with blue eyes _Apprentice, Nightpaw_

Frostpool - white furred she-cat with green eyes

Dawnfrost - dark brown she-at with white splotches all over and one black spot over her right eye _Apprentice, Brightpaw_

Goldheart - golden colored she-cat with green eyes

Suncloud - dark ginger she-cat with a gold tipped tail and golden paws with green eyes

**Apprentices:**

Ashpaw - black furred tom

Nightpaw - black furred she-cat

Redpaw - ginger tom with a black tail

Brightpaw - ginger she-cat with black paws

**Queens: **

Honeyfeather - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Gingerblaze, Spottedcloud, and Oddstar; mother of Robinkit, Cloudkit, Patchkit, and Sandkit)

**Elders: **

Firefur - dark red furred tom with amber eyes (Retired early due to broken leg that healed wrong)

_SHADOWCLAN_

_Leader: _Dovestar - gray she-cat (Daughter of Scarstar)

_Deputy: _Lizardstripe - light brown tom with darker stripes _Apprentice, Stonepaw_

_Medicine Cat: _Redstreak - red furred she-cat _Apprentice, Swiftbreeze_

_Warriors:_

Amberheart - light brown tom with amber eyes

Rockheart - brown tom with blue eyes and a white chest

Nightsong - black and white she-cat (Mate of Rockheart, mother of Swiftbreeze and Stoneheart)

Stoneheart - gray furred tom (Soon of Nightsong and Rockheart) _Apprentice, Starpaw_

_Apprentices:_

Starpaw - strange and mysterious pure black she-cat with an odd star shaped white spot on her nose (Daughter of Blazedust and Deadstar)

Swiftbreeze- black and white she-cat (Daughter of Nightsong and Rockheart)

_Queens:_

_No Queens at This Time_

_Elders: _Treeclaw - brown tom with black stripes

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Rosestar - brown and white she-cat

**Deputy: **Goldenleaf - gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Rainbreeze - brown and gray tom

**Warriors:**

Adderfang - dark brown tom

Lynxwhisker - brown tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt - dusky brown she-cat

Hollyspots - black tom with white spots

Jadefur - brown she-cat with green eyes (Mate of Hollyspots. Mother of Yelloweyes and Sagepool)

Yelloweyes - brown tom with yellow eyes

Sagepool - black and white she-cat with a brown tail and green eyes.

**Apprentices:**

No Apprentices At This Time

**NO APPRENTICES**

**Queens:**

Creekstone - gray she-cat (Mother of Stonekit, Lakekit, and Windkit.)

**Elders:**

**NO ELDERS**

_RIVERCLAN_

_Leader: _Deadstar - strange brown tom with dull blue eyes

_Deputy: _Fallenbird - gray she-cat with brown ears

_Medicine Cat: _Swandrop - white she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead

_Warriors:_

Littledapple - tiny dappled she-cat

Pinetalon - long furred black tom

Cherrytooth - red and white tom

Blazedust - grayish brown she-cat (Mate of Deadstar. Mother of Starpaw)

Minnowtail - black she-cat (Daughter of Sootstar)

Dawnwhisper - light brown she-cat

_Apprentices:_

No Apprentices At This Time

_Queens: _

NO QUEENS

_Elders:_

Darkfeather - black tom (Father of Pinetalon)

**The Tribe Of Rushing Water**

Stoneteller - large black and white tom

Wolf That Cries to Moon (Wolf) - tiny pale gray she-cat

Feather of Flying Eagle (Feather) - ginger and white she-cat

Claw of Roaring Tiger (Claw) - bulky brown and white tom

Hiss of Angry Adder (Hiss) - large ginger tom

Song of Chirping Crickets (Song) - tiny white she-cat

Flower That Grows on Cliff (Flower) - brown she-cat

Flame That Burn Trees (Flame) - large ginger tom with white stripes

Frost on Top of Mountain (Frost) - burly white furred tom

Shadow of Stalking Eagle (Shadow) - black and white she-cat

Dawn of Rising Sun (Dawn) - golden brown she-cat

Rose That Grows in Meadow (Rose) -tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Tooth Sharpened On Bone (Tooth) - cruel white furred tom with black paws

Swift River That Flows To Creek (Swift) - brown tabby tom

Snow That Falls On Cliff (Snow) - white she-cat with green eyes

Poppy That Grows In Forest (Poppy) - pale ginger and white she-cat

Snake That Slithers Through Cave (Snake) - dusky brown tom

Fish That Swims In River (Fish) - silvery gray tom

Beetle That Scurries Across Cave (Beetle) - tiny black tom

**A/N: Thank to Kitko Hime, Erin Hunteress, samredlamb7, and ShinigamiinPeru for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Fun Fact: Originally, she was going to have four kits, and name her third daughter after Graykit, her sister, but I decided she would only have three kits, and Mistkit fit better for the personality I have planned.**

**Please review!**

**~Izzy**


	12. Peace

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Peace**

"Oddstar! Oddstar!"

Oddstar lifted her head to see two pairs of green eyes staring at her along with Applekit's odd green and blue eyes. The kits all stared at their mother hopefully.

"Yes, kits?" she asked, purring.

Two moons had passed since the kits were born and no sign of the Tribe had been seen since. They still lurked, all the Clans knew that, and RiverClan had not attended the last two Gatherings. It was in these times, that the temporary peace was filled with a thick kind of tension that every cat felt.

"We wanna go outside!" Mistkit begged. "Please?"

"Oh, alright, but don't get under the warriors feet!" she called after them as they squealed excitedly and bounded from the den.

With a shake of her head, the she-cat rose to her paws, padding out of her den and into the camp. The camp was alive with activity as the kits tumbled around playfully, being side-stepped by warriors and apprentices alike. Ashpaw hissed irritably as he nearly tripped from the kits bounding past him as he was walking up to his siblings. The young tom narrowed his eyes at the kits before rolling his eyes and hurrying over to Nightpaw and Brightpaw at the fresh-kill pile. Frostpool snapped at Applekit irritably, her belly bulging slightly on the sides from unborn kits. Noticing her leader's stare the queen lashed her tail and wobbled into the nursery. Newly named Robinpaw was dancing around Goldheart, his mentor, asking what they would be doing that day, eyes filled with excitement.

"Oddstar."

She turned to look at Firefur, the injured tom hadn't been the same since he'd had to retire early, but the fact he would soon be a father to Frostpool's kits had helped to cheer his bitter attitude.

"Yes?" Oddstar asked curiously.

"It might be nothing, but I worry about what Spottedcloud is teaching Redpaw," he meowed. "Something's off about that she-cat, and Redpaw has become distant from his siblings."

Oddstar nodded, eyes sad. "I have noticed. Spottedcloud is a power hungry she-cat, and I am afraid Redpaw is following in his mentor's footsteps."

"What are you going to do?" he asked curiously.

The she-cat shook her head. "I'm afraid there's nothing I really can do about it. It's their path to walk, and the only ones who can change that are StarClan."

Firefur didn't seem calmed by that news. "StarClan. If they are even with us anymore."

"Of course they are, Firefur," she said softly.

"Oddstar!" Mistkit wailed.

The leader stood and flicked her tail. "I'll talk to you later, Firefur."

The queen hurried over to the fussing kit and licked her head soothingly. "Yes, Mistkit?"

"Applekit said I'll never be a warrior," Mistkit sniffled. "She says I'm too little."

Oddstar paused, trying to think of what to say. It was true, what Applekit had said, Mistkit was little. For a two moon old kit, she was still only a very tiny bit bigger than when she had first been born. It had become very obvious she was the tiny runt of the litter, but Oddstar did not see why this would be a disadvantage to a warrior. Being small would have it's advantages - a smaller warrior could move quicker in battle, and go where larger warriors would not b able to.

"Mistkit, you will be a warrior, just as strong and great as all the others," Oddstar said softly to her upset kit. "Applekit was right that you are very little - but with our lives, that could be a good thing. You know why?"

Mistkit shook her head.

"It makes you special," Oddstar purred. "You'll be able to do things that larger cats couldn't even dream of."

"Really?"

"Really, now go play with your sister," Oddstar meowed as she caught sight of Applekit harassing some of the irritable older warriors. "I think Dawnfrost is about to claw your sister, get her to leave Dawnfrost alone."

_Only the silent storm will save the thunder from the spreading frost…_

Oddstar's ears twitched as she watched Mistkit bound away. Shaking off the familiar voice of her former mentor, Flowerear, the she-cat scanned the clearing once again. She spotted warriors coming and going, apprentices lounging around the camp as they ate, most likely to regain energy for more training. She saw the medicine cat, Dreamcloud sorting herbs in her den with Burnkit sitting next to her, but something nagged at her. She couldn't place it.

"Oddstar," Flamewhisker purred as he came to sit next to her, his eyes on their two daughters. "I haven't seen Burnkit. Do you know where he is?"

Oddstar nodded. "He's with Dreamcloud. I think the Clan has yet another medicine cat apprentice coming their way."

"Not surprising," Flamewhisker added. "He hasn't been much of a fighter. He doesn't seem to approve of it."

"I didn't either, when I was a medicine cat," Oddstar said softly. "And here I am, leading ThunderClan through one of it's biggest wars since the Battle of the Stars."

"That's what leaders do," he replied.

**{x}{x}{x}**

In the next moon and a half that passed, three major things happened. The first was that Frostpool and Firefur became the proud parents to Flarekit, a ginger she-cat, and Snowkit, a white tom with gray tipped ears, and three gray paws, the only white paw being his left front paw. Spottedcloud's apprentice, Redpaw, and his siblings had done extremely well in training, but after protecting the nursery from a fox, only Redpaw received his warrior name, Redclaw. Something about the tom still set off alarms in Oddstar's mind. The third, and probably most important thing to have happened was that Rainleaf, her deputy, was found dead right in the very heart of ThunderClan territory, body reeking of ShadowClan scent. She did not believe ShadowClan cats would murder another Clan's deputy, not with the threat of the Tribe still lingering, but that had not stopped Oddstar from visiting Dovestar to discuss the findings. Dovestar had been furious at the accusation, and quickly defended that someone was obviously framing ShadowClan for the murder, and Oddstar agreed.

Oddstar, to the rest of the Clan's dismay, had appointed Snowfeather as her deputy. Many believed the she-cat was much too young to be deputy, and Oddstar did agree to the fact she was young, but she would not pick Flamewhisker and be told she was biased toward her mate. Her second choice was, of course, Coalwing, but the tom was still grieving the loss of his mate, and the Clan would not be happy to have a former ShadowClan tom as their deputy. Her next choice to mull had been Suncloud, but the she-cat, while level-headed, was sometimes too easy to make back down when it came to conflict. Plus, she had yet to have trained an apprentice.

That had left the choice between Snowfeather, Spottedcloud, Dawnfrost, Goldheart, and Honeyfeather. Honeyfeather would have been a good choice, but the she-cat was often too soft, too understanding. Goldheart, too, was like that, so that eliminated both of them. Dawnfrost, however, was the exact opposite, the she-cat was rather cynical, and sometimes quick to start fights as well as end them. That was a quality not suited to a leader, and Dawnfrost knew that as well, and was content to just be the best warrior she could be.

That had left Snowfeather and Spottedcloud, and there was no way in StarClan that Oddstar would appoint her sister as deputy, there was a darkness in Spottedcloud's heart, and Oddstar easily surmised that her sister no longer walked the path of StarClan, but the path of an enemy not easily forgotten - the Dark Forest. So the choice had been somewhat easy, and Snowfeather had become her new deputy.

Robinpaw had spent the last two days in the medicine cat's den, nursing a sprained paw he received when he, Sandpaw, and Patchpaw had had a tree-climbing race, that resulting in the young tom falling from one of the branches. He had been reprimanded, and once he was healed, he would not attend the next two Gatherings, and his two siblings were both on Elder Duty, taking care of Firefur. The tom enjoyed bossing around the apprentices, and he had quickly gotten on their bad side.

She enjoyed the peace the Clan was experiencing, where the biggest worry was filling up the fresh-kill pile on a daily basis. She enjoyed being able to patrol with her Clan without the worry of attack from the other Clans, enjoyed running alongside her warriors when hunting.

The peace, while nice, would not last.

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Oddstar - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with different colored eyes that are always changing color (Also a Queen. Mate of Flamewhisker; Mother of Applekit, Burnkit, and Mistkit)

**Deputy: **Snowfeather - white furred she-cat with blue eyes _Apprentice, Nightpaw_

**Medicine Cat: **Dreamcloud - golden furred she-cat with white paws and a white belly

**Warriors:**

Flamewhisker - tan furred tom (Son of Blossomlight and Rainleaf, brother of Mintfrost) _Apprentice, Ashpaw_

Coalwing - black furred tom

Spottedcloud - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Icestorm - white furred tom with green eyes

Dawnfrost - dark brown she-at with white splotches all over and one black spot over her right eye _Apprentice, Brightpaw_

Goldheart - golden colored she-cat with green eyes _Apprentice, Robinpaw_

Suncloud - dark ginger she-cat with a gold tipped tail and golden paws with green eyes

Honeyfeather - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Gingerblaze, Spottedcloud, and Oddstar; mother of Robinpaw, Cloudpaw, Patchpaw, and Sandpaw)

Redclaw- ginger tom with a black tail

**Apprentices:**

Ashpaw - black furred tom

Nightpaw - black furred she-cat

Brightpaw - ginger she-cat with black paws

Robinpaw - ginger and white tom

Cloudpaw - gray furred tom with white paws

Patchpaw - white tom with gray patches

Sandpaw - cream colored she-cat

**Queens: **

Frostpool - white furred she-cat with green eyes (Expecting Firefur's kits)

**Elders: **

Firefur - dark red furred tom with amber eyes (Retired early due to broken leg that healed wrong)

_SHADOWCLAN_

_Leader: _Dovestar - gray she-cat (Daughter of Scarstar)

_Deputy: _Lizardstripe - light brown tom with darker stripes _Apprentice, Stonepaw_

_Medicine Cat: _Redstreak - red furred she-cat _Apprentice, Swiftbreeze_

_Warriors:_

Amberheart - light brown tom with amber eyes

Rockheart - brown tom with blue eyes and a white chest

Nightsong - black and white she-cat (Mate of Rockheart, mother of Swiftbreeze and Stoneheart)

Stoneheart - gray furred tom (Soon of Nightsong and Rockheart) _Apprentice, Starpaw_

_Apprentices:_

Starpaw - strange and mysterious pure black she-cat with an odd star shaped white spot on her nose (Daughter of Blazedust and Deadstar)

Swiftbreeze- black and white she-cat (Daughter of Nightsong and Rockheart)

_Queens:_

_No Queens at This Time_

_Elders: _Treeclaw - brown tom with black stripes

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader: **Rosestar - brown and white she-cat

**Deputy: **Goldenleaf - gold she-cat with a white tail and leaf green eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Rainbreeze - brown and gray tom

**Warriors:**

Adderfang - dark brown tom

Lynxwhisker - brown tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt - dusky brown she-cat

Hollyspots - black tom with white spots

Jadefur - brown she-cat with green eyes (Mate of Hollyspots. Mother of Yelloweyes and Sagepool)

Yelloweyes - brown tom with yellow eyes

Sagepool - black and white she-cat with a brown tail and green eyes.

Creekstone - gray she-cat (Mother of Stonekit, Lakekit, and Windkit.)

**Apprentices:**

Stonepaw - light gray tom

Lakepaw - stormy gray she-cat with blue eyes

Windpaw - white and gray tom

**NO APPRENTICES**

**Queens:**

No Queens at This Time

**Elders:**

**NO ELDERS**

_RIVERCLAN_

_Leader: _Deadstar - strange brown tom with dull blue eyes

_Deputy: _Fallenbird - gray she-cat with brown ears

_Medicine Cat: _Swandrop - white she-cat with a brown drop on her forehead

_Warriors:_

Littledapple - tiny dappled she-cat

Pinetalon - long furred black tom

Cherrytooth - red and white tom

Blazedust - grayish brown she-cat (Mate of Deadstar. Mother of Starpaw)

Minnowtail - black she-cat (Daughter of Sootstar)

Dawnwhisper - light brown she-cat

_Apprentices:_

No Apprentices At This Time

_Queens: _

NO QUEENS

_Elders:_

Darkfeather - black tom (Father of Pinetalon)

**The Tribe Of Rushing Water**

Stoneteller - large black and white tom

Wolf That Cries to Moon (Wolf) - tiny pale gray she-cat

Feather of Flying Eagle (Feather) - ginger and white she-cat

Claw of Roaring Tiger (Claw) - bulky brown and white tom

Hiss of Angry Adder (Hiss) - large ginger tom

Song of Chirping Crickets (Song) - tiny white she-cat

Flower That Grows on Cliff (Flower) - brown she-cat

Flame That Burn Trees (Flame) - large ginger tom with white stripes

Frost on Top of Mountain (Frost) - burly white furred tom

Shadow of Stalking Eagle (Shadow) - black and white she-cat

Dawn of Rising Sun (Dawn) - golden brown she-cat

Rose That Grows in Meadow (Rose) -tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Tooth Sharpened On Bone (Tooth) - cruel white furred tom with black paws

Swift River That Flows To Creek (Swift) - brown tabby tom

Snow That Falls On Cliff (Snow) - white she-cat with green eyes

Poppy That Grows In Forest (Poppy) - pale ginger and white she-cat

Snake That Slithers Through Cave (Snake) - dusky brown tom

Fish That Swims In River (Fish) - silvery gray tom

Beetle That Scurries Across Cave (Beetle) - tiny black tom

**A/N: Thanks to Erin Hunteress, Kitko Hime, samredlamb7, Poolnight, A Frozen Flower Made of Ice, Star - Warrior Cat, ShinigamiinPeru, and tufted for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to A Frozen Flower Made of Ice, Sparrowflight7, and iSnoBall for adding this story to their favorites. Thanks to A Frozen Flower Made of Ice, SwiftStar1, Sparrowflight7, and iSnoBall for adding this story to their alerts.**

**So SO sorry, for the long wait between updates, guys. There have been quite a few family deaths recently, and then my best friend recently had a baby. YAY! Add to that I've had laptop problems, had to get a new one, and NOW I have to pay 50 or so bucks for a new battery cause the battery in my current laptop is bad. Well, it sucks right now.**

**It will be awhile until the next update. I want to completely write out the remaining chapters of Oddstar's Legacy before I update again, so hopefully it won't be too long!**

**Till next time.**

**~ Ashflight**


	13. The End of A Legacy

**Chapter Thirteen**

**The End of a Legacy**

A horrified wail echoed through the silent clearing. With a groan, Oddstar blinked open her eyes and lifted her head from her paws. Her kits, Applekit, Mistkit, and Burnkit awoke with a start, fur bristling at the eerie sound. The black night could still be seen outside, but Oddstar rose to her paws nonetheless, her own fur bristling with unease. Another wail sounded, and soon the murmurs of mourning cats sounded.

Flicking her tail to the kits to tell them to stay put, she padded out of the den and looked down at the gathering crowd. Firefur was licking Frostpool's ear comfortingly as the queen stared down at the motionless body of Snowkit. Flarekit sat next to her mother, pressing her tiny body into her mother's flank.

Oddstar let out a sad sigh. In the two moons since Firefur and Frostpool's kits had been born, it had become obvious that Snowkit was a very sickly little tom. Even though many knew he would most likely join StarClan before apprenticeship, it was still a heavy hit to the hearts of the ThunderClan cats.

"Oddstar? What's wrong with Snowkit?" Applekit asked curiously.

Oddstar glanced at her daughter, who was staring at Snowkit's body. Her kits knew what death was; too much of it had occurred in the six moons they had been alive for them to not know what it was. The look in Applekit's eyes told Oddstar the kit already knew what had happened to Snowkit, but the young she-cat wanted to be sure.

"He walks with StarClan now, Applekit," Oddstar said softly, flicking her tail across her daughter's flank.

Applekit nodded sadly and rose to her paws, padding back into the leader's den to be with her siblings.

Oddstar watched her go and then glanced back at Snowkit's body. Her pelt itched as if it was covered in ants, and she closed her eyes, shaking her head in denial. With all the death, and the war with the Tribe, Oddstar wanted to ignore the thought, push it aside, but she knew that she couldn't do that.

It was time to let her kits go. As much as the thought pained her, as much as she didn't want to send them off to train in fighting and lead them into battles, it was time.

Her kits needed to grow up.

**{X}{X}{X}**

"Applekit, you have reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed," Oddstar announced three days later. "From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Applepaw. Icestorm, though you are young, you are ready for your first apprentice. You have shown yourself to be a warrior of bravery and endless energy, and I hope you will pass those traits down to Applepaw."

Icestorm and Applepaw touched noses before retreating into the crowd.

"Mistkit, from this day forward, you will be known as Mistpaw," Oddstar continued. "Suncloud, you will mentor Mistpaw, you are a warrior of kindness and patience and I hope you will pass those traits down to Mistpaw."

The pair touched noses and headed back into the crowd.

"And finally, Burnkit," Oddstar purred. "From this day forward, you will be known as Burnpaw. Dreamcloud?"

The medicine cat slowly came forward. "Cats of ThunderClan," Dreamcloud meowed. "As you know, I will not be around forever, so it is time I take an apprentice. I have chosen a cat that has shown intelligence and skill. Your next medicine cat will be Burnpaw."

"Applepaw! Mistpaw! Burnpaw! Applepaw! Mistpaw! Burnpaw!" the Clan cheered.

As the crowd dispersed, Oddstar watched her kits from the Highledge as Burnpaw followed Dreamcloud to the den, and Mistpaw and Applepaw set out with their mentors for their very first tour of ThunderClan territory.

_My little kits all apprenticed already, _she purred, albeit sadly, before getting to her paws. "Snowfeather, I'm going to go hunting by myself for awhile."

The deputy nodded in understanding. "All right, Oddstar. I have all the patrols set for the day, so things in camp should be relatively quiet."

Oddstar nodded and padded out of camp through the thorn tunnel. She walked deep into the heart of ThunderClan territory, scenting the air every few minutes. After a second, she dropped into a hunter's crouch and carefully drew herself forward on her paws before leaping. The mouse's squeal was cut short as Oddstar killed it with one swift bite. Burying the prey, she continued on, catching two rabbits, a vole, and another mouse. With a sigh, she gathered her prey and began heading toward camp.

She was caught by surprise when a weight landed on her back, forcing her to the ground. As the prey fell from her jaws, the stench of the Tribe filled her nose, and she yowled in pain when the tom raked his claws down her back. She flipped under him and kicked out with her hind legs, pushing the large white furred tom with black paws off. She recognized him from a previous fight and remembered his name was Tooth Sharpened on Bone, or Tooth to his other Tribe mates. The tom snarled and lunged for her again, teeth sinking into her throat.

With a gurgle, Oddstar struggled against him as blood welled into his mouth. She could feel one of her lives leaving her as black dots filled her vision until it had gone completely black.

_Her eyes opened with a gasp as she sat up. Graykit sat there, waiting for her. Next to Graykit, was a much fuller looking Oddstar copy, having been filled in with the life she had lost to sickness, and two other lives lost to a badger. The image filled in even more as Oddstar's life faded away, leaving her with only four lives remaining._

"_Your time is drawing nearer," Graykit meowed sadly. "Soon, your legacy will end."_

_Oddstar sighed. "Yes, I know."_

"_The Tribe will not be beaten in your lifetime, Oddstar," Graykit said suddenly. "I know you want to defeat them before you die, but that is not how it's meant to be."_

_Oddstar's claws unsheathed in fury. "They have to be! I can't die and leave my Clan behind to continue fighting this enemy."_

_Graykit shook her head. "Awaken, Oddstar, and face your enemy, and your fate,"_

Oddstar stood, shaking out her pelt. The tom stood nearby, pelt bristling as he leapt at her again. She ducked under her, allowing him to sail over her and land ungracefully on the ground. Spinning quickly on her paws, she leapt onto his back and dug her claws in, attacking his ears with her teeth as her claws shredded the skin on his shoulders. The tom yowled in pain and threw her from his back. Raising a pain, he slashed at her vulnerable belly as soon as she hit the ground, landing on her back. His claws sank deep into the sensitive belly skin, and she cried out in pain.

A ginger blur shot from the undergrowth and bowled the tom over and off of the leader. Lifting her head weakly, Oddstar caught sight of Redclaw tearing into the tom furiously. The tom took two lashes to the shoulders, before turning tail and running. Redclaw turned to Oddstar, blood covering his paws. His eyes were cold as he gazed at her, a sneer forming on his face.

"Finish it," a cold voice said from nearby.

Redclaw walked over to the leader and raised his paws, bringing his sharp claws down on her throat. Oddstar's eyes widened as the life drained out of her, and before she blacked out, she saw Spottedcloud walking out, as Redclaw, lunged for her throat again to insure that the she-cat never woke up again.

**{X}{X}{X}**

Flamewhisker wailed in grief as Redclaw returned, carrying Oddstar's limp body. He bounded over, filled with grief as the tom gently laid down the leader's body in the center of the clearing.

"What happened?" he asked, voice hollow with grief.

"She was attacked by a Tribe tom," Redclaw meowed sadly, voice filled with a false grief. "I fought him off, but he'd already done too much damage."

"Oddstar!" Burnpaw wailed as he ran over to his mother's body.

Dreamcloud approached behind him and examined Oddstar's wounds. "That tom injured her badly enough to make sure she would not return. Five loves, gone just like that."

Flamewhisker shook his head and pressed his nose into his mate's fur. It was already growing cold, and anger burned deeply in his heart. He felt something next to him, and was surrounded by his mate's comforting scent.

_Spottedcloud and Redclaw are not to be trusted, Flamewhisker. Remember that._

He blinked, but made no move to acknowledge her, not wanting to tip off Redclaw who was sitting nearby, pretending to grieve.

He would remember. He knew his mate was suspicious of Redclaw and Spottedcloud, and now he shared her suspicions. Something was off, the tom seemed… smug, even though he appeared to be grieving. Burnpaw buried his nose in his mother's fur, and when two new wails sounded, Flamewhisker knew Mistpaw and Applepaw had returned.

It would be hard for them, the day that was supposed to be their happiest was now their saddest. They had become apprentices, but they had lost their mother.

Oddstar's Legacy had come to an end.

**A/N: Thanks to Icecloud447, ilovelotsofstuff, Erin Hunteress, Guest, Kitko Hime, samredlamb7, and Sparrowflight7 for reviewing this story. **

**So, my lovely readers, after this chapter, there is only ONE chapter remaining for Oddstar's Legacy. But don't fret, there will be a sequel, MistClan's Rise. I'll go ahead and give you a small summary.**

**MistClan's Rise Summary: Mistfall, daughter of the great Oddstar, had had enough. Ever since she was a kit, she had been judge for her small size. A competent warrior the size of a newly named apprentice, she's sick of everyone poking fun at her for her size. Even her sister, the Clan deputy, Appleblossom, and her medicine cat brother, Burnsky, judge her. Leaving ThunderClan behind, she journeys across the mountains back to ThunderClan's old territory to find a shocking sight. The four former territories were not destroyed by the Twolegs as the Clans had believe for so long. Resolving to rebuild new Clans in the Old Territories, Mistfall sets out on her adventure.**

**See you all next chapter! I'll have the final chapter of Oddstar's Legacy posted in a couple days.**

**~Ashflight.**


	14. Epilogue - Time Flies

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Time Flies**

"_I hail you by your new name, Snowstar," Oddstar announced at the end of Snowfeather's leader ceremony. "Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of ThunderClan. Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity."_

"_Snowstar! Snowstar!"_

…

"_I say these words before StarClan that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve my choice," Snowstar announce later that night at Moonhigh. "Flamewhisker will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."_

_Flamewhisker rose shakily to his paws and dipped his head in acknowledgement. "I'll do my best to serve ThunderClan as its deputy."_

_Snowstar watched the tom curiously and nodded. There was something in the tom's eyes. There was grief there, but also something else. A cold hate that appeared when the tom looked at Redclaw or Spottedcloud. Snowstar wasn't mouse-brained; she knew many cats in the Clan had questions about Redclaw and Spottedcloud's loyalty. There was something off about the pair._

…

"_I, Dreamcloud, medicine cat of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help he will serve his Clan for many moons," Dreamcloud meowed one night many moons later. _

_Burnpaw shifted anxiously from paw to paw. He could hardly believe it was finally here. He was finally getting his medicine cat name after ten long moons of training as Dreamcloud's apprentice. It was finally his time to be just as important as his mentor._

"_Burnpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"_

_Burnpaw met his mentor's eyes. "I do."_

"_Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Burnpaw, from this moment you will be know as Burnsky. StarClan honors your energy and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of ThunderClan."_

_After respectfully licking his mentor's shoulder, Burnsky's tail curled in delight as the other medicine cats chanted his name. Looking closely, he could see the outline of his mother sitting beside Dreamcloud, chanting his name along with the others, looking prouder than he could ever remember her being._

_As he lay down to share dreams with StarClan, he saw his mother slowly fade. The grief of her loss still lived in him, but he knew she was watching them all from StarClan._

…

"_ATTACK!"_

_Snowstar's eyes widened in surprise as RiverClan and Tribe cats poured into the ThunderClan camp. She gave a yowl and her cats leapt to meet their attackers. Burnsky stood back with Dreamcloud in the medicine cat den, gathering herbs to treat the injured that would inevitably come. _

_A furious cry caught his attention as he watched his father turn and slap at Redclaw, who had stalked up behind his father to attack him. Burnsky's eyes widened as Spottedcloud launched at Flamewhisker, raking her claws down his flank. A small blur of pale grey launched into Redclaw's side, bowling him over. _

_Mistpaw's tiny form scored her claws down Redclaw's belly before leaping off and onto Spottedcloud's back. Applepaw rushed over to take her sister's place fighting Redclaw. It had been three moons since Redclaw and Spottedcloud's treachery was first realized when the pair had left to join RiverClan and the Tribe. It had left many ThunderClan cats furious; especially when it was later learned that the two had been the one's to kill Oddstar._

_Applepaw and Spottedcloud faced off while Flamewhisker's still body lay unmoving on the ground. Burnsky could already tell that their father was dead, and felt a familiar rage burning deep in his belly. _

_The battle waged on, but it seemed that Flamewhisker was the only loss the Clan suffered as they slowly began to drive the enemy back. Various cats had injuries, some more severe than others, but all were healable. Once the enemy had been completely run from the camp, Snowstar and the Clan mourned the loss of their deputy. _

_Later that night, she announced Honeyfeather as deputy, much to everyone's shock, but she also held the warrior ceremonies off all the apprentices. It seemed to cheer the Clan as they all chanted the many names to the sky._

"_Ashcloud! Nightstorm! Brightfeather! Robintail! Cloudspirit! Patchear! Sandfur! Flarestorm! Appleblossom! Mistfall! Ashcloud! Nightstorm! Brightfeather! Robintail! Cloudspirit! Patchear! Sandfur! Flarestorm! Appleblossom! Mistfall!"_

_As the cats all crowded around the new warriors excitedly, Burnsky saw Suncloud walk up to Robin tail and whisper something into the tom's ear. He watched the new warrior's eyes light up and purred softly to himself._

_ThunderClan would soon have more kits._

…

_Just as Graykit had predicted, the Tribe was defeated not long after Appleblossom and Mistfall received their warrior names, and were chased back to the mountains. Deadstar, the RiverClan leader, lost his final life in the battle, and the Clan was taken over and led by his deputy, who brought RiverClan back to it's former greatness in a very short period of time._

_Things were hard the first few moons after the fight. Cats were still adjusting to loses they suffered, coming to terms with the betrayal of two of their own, and then Honeyfeather retired, and a new deputy had to be named. The day Honeyfeather retired from her position as deputy seemed like a cold, dreary day._

"_Let all cats old enough to catch prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Snowstar yowled, and cats slid from their dens and got to their paws to gather under their leader._

_Appleblossom and Mistfall sat next to their apprentices, Reedpaw and Mallowpaw respectively. Snowstar glanced around at the crowd and nodded, as if assuring that everyone was present._

_The leader opened her mouth to speak. "Honeyfeather has said that she believes it is her time to retire to the elder's den."_

_Surprised murmurs spread through the Clan. Honeyfeather was the oldest cat in the Clan, even older than the former ShadowClan warrior, Coalwing. Some, while surprised, had known this day would eventually come._

"_Honeyfeather, is it your wish to give up the name of warrior and go to join the elders?" Snowstar asked._

"_It is," the old she-cat meowed, voice cracking._

"_Your Clan honors you and all the service you have given to us. I call upon StarClan to give you many moons of rest."_

"_Honeyfeather! Honeyfeather!"_

"_Now that Honeyfeather has retired, I must choose a new deputy," Snowstar continued. "I say these words before StarClan, that our warrior ancestors may hear and approve my choice. Appleblossom will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."_

_Appleblossom, though surprised, rose to her paws and leapt onto the Highledge to stand next to the leader, turning to face the crowd. "I would be honored to serve ThunderClan as its deputy."_

_The cats cheered, obviously pleased with the choice. Many knew Appleblossom would one day make a great leader, like her mother._

_Mistfall looked on happily, but her heart gave a painful squeeze when she saw the forms of her parents sitting next to Appleblossom, extremely proud. She remember Burnsky saying he had seen their mother at his medicine cat ceremony moons before, and it pained her to know that her parents had appeared for special occasions involving her siblings, but she had not seen them when she received her warrior name._

"_You will do great things," a voice whispered in her ear._

_Mistfall's ears flicked at the familiar voice of Snowkit, one of her former friends who had died when she was still a kit. At least someone cared enough to reassure her._

…

Honeyfeather stretched out in the elder's den, watching as Reedpaw cleaned out the bedding. Firefur sat in the corner grumpily, snapping at Mallowpaw to hurry and get the mouse-bile while Coalwing simply slept as the apprentice's did their work. She glanced up at the sky through the den opening. Sunhigh was upon them, and it was a nice day outside.

The she-cat knew her time was coming, but she was proud to have been there for all of her kits. Robintail and his siblings had all become fine warriors, as had all of her grandkits. She missed both of her daughters, Gingerblaze and Oddstar, and while she missed Spottedcloud, she knew the same probably could not be said for her coldhearted, lost kit.

Oddstar had been a wonderful leader, even though she had a hard start to life.

Honeyfeather's eyes rested on Mistfall, who was getting onto her apprentice, Mallowpaw, for being careless and tossing the mouse-bile covered wad of moss onto a perfectly good piece of fresh-kill. No cat would touch that plump mouse now, and Honeyfeather purred in amusement.

Something told her Mistfall would do great things, and with that final thought, Honeyfeather closed her eyes and welcome StarClan.

_**FINAL ALLEGIANCES (THUNDERCLAN ONLY)**_

**ALLEGIANCES**

**ThunderClan:**

**Leader: **Snowstar- white furred she-cat with blue eyes _Apprentice, Mallowpaw_

**Deputy: **Appleblossom - black and ginger she-cat with a single white paw and multicolored eyes _Apprentice, Reedpaw_

**Medicine Cat: **Burnsky - tan furred tom with ginger patches

**Warriors:**

Icestorm - white furred tom with green eyes

Dawnfrost - dark brown she-at with white splotches all over and one black spot over her right eye

Goldheart - golden colored she-cat with green eyes

Suncloud - dark ginger she-cat with a gold tipped tail and golden paws with green eyes

Ashcloud - black furred tom _Apprentice, Dawnpaw_

Nightstorm - black furred she-cat

Brightfeather - ginger she-cat with black paws

Robintail - ginger and white tom (Mate of Suncloud)

Cloudspirit - gray furred tom with white paws _Apprentice, Redpaw_

Patchear - white tom with gray patches

Flarestorm - ginger furred she-cat

**Apprentices:**

Reedpaw - light ginger tom with brown stripes

Mallowpaw - white she-cat with a ginger tail and two ginger ears

Redpaw - ginger tom

Dawnpaw - white she-cat with one single ginger patch over her left eye

**Queens: **

Frostpool - white furred she-cat with green eyes (Expecting Firefur's kits)

Sandfur - cream colored she-cat (Mother of Daisykit and Lilackit)

**Elders: **

Firefur - dark red furred tom with amber eyes (Retired early due to broken leg that healed wrong)

Coalwing - black furred tom

**A/N: Thanks to Looking for Something New, sameredlamb7, Erin Hunteress, Silver Sakura-hime, and mossfire16 for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Well, here it is! The end of Oddstar's Legacy. Wow. I already have the first two chapters for MistClan's Rise written and I will post the first one later tonight or tomorrow.**

**Till next time!**

**~Ashflight**


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